2nd 5K

I have been neglecting Pamelot again. I apologize.

I ran my 2nd 5K this past weekend. And I took 5 minutes off my time! I couldn't believe it! My friend from work, Jen, ran it with me again. She was immensely helpful to me. I feel like I could have taken more time off my race if I hadn't had to go to the bathroom so bad after the second mile! You would think that having to go to the bathroom would make you run faster, but it does not! I had to slow down to get myself under control.

I came in 441st out of 529 racers. 76th out of 96 for females in my age group. My goal again, was to not stop and to not be last. I also added the goal of improving my time. My 1st 5K I wasn't last, but man was I close. :) This time I actually ran in a pack and I had plenty of time when I crossed the finish line.

So now I feel as though I may have found my cross-addiction from food - running. I can't even put words to it - I love it. And the races - I can't wait to do another one and improve my time yet again. I almost signed up for one this weekend (Race for the Cure), but I have so much to do to get ready for a vacation we're going on soon.

My knees have been taking a hit from the running. I have moderate arthritis in both of my knees from the years of being humungous. I went to my family doctor to discuss it with him. He specializes in sports medicine and is a triathlete himself. He was very excited to hear that I had caught the running bug. He said that he would not tell me to stop running because the benefits far outweigh the cons at this point. But he does want me to stick to the hard and fast rule of not running on consecutive days. On the days I don't run I should focus on cross-training - strengthening my quads and hamstrings in order to make things easier on my knees when I do run. So I have taken to using my dad's elliptical machine to cross-train on my days off from running. I can already see it helping. Yesterday when I ran I did an 11 minute mile. That may sound slow to you, but in my first 5K my pace was almost a 15 minute mile. My second 5K pace was 13:07 per mile.

So I would like to put a goal out there of doing 1 more 5K where I improve my time again - and then to do a 10K some time in the fall. I can't believe I even just said that - it's ridiculous.