LiveSTRONG 5K Race Report
Forgot my jacket...
Forgot my water bottles...
Probably would have forgotten my head if it weren't attached to my shoulders!
So this was my first attempt to run a full 5K. My training plans didn't worout as well as I had hoped, with little interruptions like Ike, but I did what I could. I am not a runner, I am a biker, so this was a big deal for me.
It was beautiful weather in Austin. I really like this city. I don't know what it is, but there is such a laid-back feeling about it. Even the downtown hustle and bustle is low-key. This morning it looked like cyclists and runners run everything in this town. LOL
It was nice and cool, not too cold. By the time we made it to the Start area Starbucks had opened just in time (pure joy!) for both potty and coffee! Pre-race I had a bite of a banana muffin, part of a banana and about a 1/2 cup of yogurt fruit and granola, compliments of the Texas Culinary Institute.
Lance was not present at the festivities, but Evan Handler, from Sex and the City, was there in his place. I didn't know he was a Leukemia survivor.
It started and I heard my Daughter, "Go Mommy, go! go Mommy, go!" I makes me smile that she loves to cheer me on! She said it's Okay if I don't win, because I'll have more fun than all the other Mommies. :)
Anyway, I worked most of the run in 5 minute intervals, running 3 to 4 minutes of each interval (where I could). Although I think San Francisco lost a couple hills to Austin's downtown area, but I trekked up those hills like I meant it. On my "rests" I couldn't get my heart rate lower than 154 (that I saw anyway) after the first mile. Most of the time my heart rate was around 165 to 170!
I started my heart rate monitor as I crossed the start, and in the end I finished in an unofficial 38 minutes - that's a 12.2 minute pace. That was waaaaay better than I ever would have expected. I did have a timing chip, so I'll get the official results soon.
I grabbed a LiveStrong Pompom from a volunteer for my biggest cheerleaders who greeted me at the Finish.
We headed to iHop and talked about how Cassie and Daddy would start practicing with Mommy and we can all run a 5K together! Incidentally, there were a bunch of little ones there... not much older than Cass!
We stopped at the LiveSTRONG Village where Mommy scored another free water bottle (water bottle problem solved), Cassie scored a free tot-sized LiveSTRONG tee (probably because she's too cute! I can say that, I'm here Mom). We had silly magazine cover pictures taken in an effort to win a Nissan Maxima or a Trek bike or some other prizes. Last, I bought an awesome LiveSTRONG jacket .
That's it.... and while it may not seem so, reading all your race reports helped motivate me to get this far, so thanks!
Donna
