Pasadena 5K Finisher's Photo

This is the ONLY photo of me available even though right after this I put my sweater down and took another one! There were photographers literally standing on the course, doing NOTHING! Whatever, I got my medal!

Pasadena Marathon 5k 29:41!

I dragged my husband and kids all the way to Pasadena at 5am today for the inaugural Pasadena Marathon. Remind me to never attend an inaugural race again. It was so ridiculously unorganized, they put the wrong directions on the information sheets! Only 10 porta potties for 8000 people! Paul and the kids stood with me in the rain for an hour as we waited for the race to start, but as soon as they called for the 5K racers to line up I sent them to the van to wait. They ran into the dark with chattering teeth and I headed to the start line alone. I quickly scanned the race bibs people wore and aligned myself with a few girls who had 5K race bibs tacked to their shirts so I would know when to start. After a few minutes they started moving forward, and slowly I saw the race crowd start to move. Heads bobbed above the plastic trash bags the experienced racers knew would keep them warm until the race, discarded in careless piles along the road as the runners broke out from the pack. Annoying road-hogging walkers who should have just done the 5K fun run and been behind us turned the starting line into an obstacle course, weaving and cutting for the first half mile slowed me down and gave me a chance to warm up. Suddenly I saw a break in the crowd and took off running. My body quickly warmed but my thick CTF hoodie felt great with the wind chill cooling my exposed skin. I hit the first mile marker and did what I always do, I looked around me for the thickest calves and tried to hold my pace to their's as they pounded the pavement, the runner's face invisible to me as I matched their gait. One by one they either disappeared in front or behind me, and soon I reached the turnaround. There was no mile marker for mile 2, or clocks on the course! I shook it off and focused on breathing deeply, congestion threatening my oxygen intake, but with such a short race you can't lose time worrying about breathing. You just run, balls out, hard, until you see the finish and then throw everything in you into that last quarter mile. Legs slamming hard into the empty road, spectators flashing by in splashes of color, smile for the camera and... it's over! As quickly as it started, it has ended, and you find yourself in a crowd of runners. I put my arms above my head and sucked in the cold air, took the snacks from the volunteers to give to the kids and poured water down my burning throat. I wore my medal proudly as I walked past the festival finish line and went straight to the car, where my own little congratulatory crew awaited. I was met with kisses and hugs, and a trip to Coco's! I had to wait all day for my official stats and am very happy with them!


Overall: 216 out of 748
Women: 91 out of 472
F 25-29: 19 out of 80
Finish: 29:41 Pace: 9:33

I am stoked I am 19th out of 80 for my age group! That is better than I have ever scored. Next stop, a sub 1 hour 10K!

5K in 29 minutes!

Check one goal off of my New Years resolution list! Today I ran 3.1 miles, a 5K, in 29 minutes!! Thats about a 9 1/2 mn mile held for just over 3 miles! I am so proud of myself to reach my first speed goal. I hate to pat myself on the back, but just this once, I need to. Sure as I stumbled to a halt at the spot www.MapMyRun.com told me would be 3.1 miles from my starting place, my lungs ached and my legs burned. I dry heaved for about 5 minutes, then tasted blood every time I spit. I got a bit dizzy and felt completely detached from my surroundings as I walked back home. As I spit out more nausea and held my arms over my head to get some oxygen to my side stitches, I was smiling like a lunatic... a lunatic with weakness on the entire left side of my body and bilateral deafness and balance issues who just ran 3 miles in 29 minutes! I have cause to celebrate but this is only a training run, so I need to slow my proverbial roll and stick to the schedule for one more week. Next Sunday I'll run the Pasadena 5K and plan to finish even faster!

New Training Schedule
Yoga after each session

Tuesday- Cross Train (elliptical or swimming for 45mn)and weight training
Wednesday- 5k Tempo Run
Friday- Intervals on treadmill, 4 miles w/ 8x400 @ 7.5mph and weight training
Sunday- Long Run, work up to 20 miles every Sunday!

With this schedule I know I will continue to meet every goal set!

5K Training

Hey Google Ads... can't you read? I do not have a toenail fungus! My toenail fell off after being rubbed by my shoe for 20 miles a week for the last year. So why is there a laser toe fungus removal ad on my page? Not exactly what I assumed would happen when I signed up for ad-sense.

Speaking of running... I ran 2 miles in 19 minutes yesterday and was elated until Miena told me they run 2 in 17 in the army. I am just not a naturally fast runner. I can chug along just fine for long distances, but carrying a 10 mn pace past the first mile has eluded me as of yet. The last couple of weeks as I have been training for the Pasadena Marathon 5K I have been totally focused on speed. I have been running fartleks, intervals, pace runs, and still long runs on the weekend to keep up my mileage. I remember when running at 6mph on the treadmill was scary, and now I am running at 7.5 for short bursts of speed. When I step off the treadmill at the gym I feel strong and I know I will finish that 5K under 30 mn at the least!