ice, ice, baby

Yesterday was a good day for this slow runner!

Had my Valentine's Day TC 5K race.  My coach TenacityChris assigned me a goal pace of 10:30.....seemed FAIRLY doable if I pushed myself, but I was a little nervous, too, because my outdoor runs have all been 11+ minute paces.  Had my trusty Garmin Electra fired up and ready to go and when I passed the starting line, hit the button and was off - walking.  HUGE traffic jam as runners streamed into the narrow walkway from the adjacent parking lot, forcing those of us who had actually lined up for the race to have to slow down and wait.....grrr.....oh well, it's supposed to be a fun run, right?  Except that I had definite goals I was trying to accomplish (a first for me!) and damn if I was going to let a few walkers, strollers and slower runners (whodathunk THAT was possible?!) get in my way.  Or mess up my positive attitude.  I was just going to go with it.

Took me a while to weave my way through the aforementioned traffic and then I was feeling pretty good.  I heard Garmin Electra beep at mile one and looked down to check my pace.....and my aging eyes couldn't make out the numbers.  Argh!  But, like I said, I was feeling good so I picked up the pace just a touch.....eventually, I was passing (yes PASSING!) other runners.....that felt great!!!  There is one spot on the route that I HATE, and that is the little extra loop that gets thrown in right before the finish line.....for some reason that is a mental hurdle for me in every race I run around Lake Harriet and yesterday was no different.....what WAS different was that I was able to suck it up and tell myself to just keep moving; I even made myself go faster to show that particular portion of the trail just who frickin' OWNED it and then all of a sudden, I was done.

When I was finally able to read my watch, I saw my times:
Mile 1: 11:04 (uh oh, not too close to the goal pace)
Mile 2: 09:48
Mile 3: 09:35
Mile 4: 08:19 (the last 0.1 mile around the mind bending bend)

Yee Haw!! Negative splits, baby!! Overall pace: 10:05!!!

You faster runners will be way underimpressed with my pace but I'm amazed at what I was able to accomplish.  I think a big part of it is the core training.....but also changing my diet (no more bonking, please.)  Annnndddd eliminating my regular staple of Don Julio probably played a part, too.

Maybe I'm on my way to finding the secret sauce for a successful marathon.....I can't wait to see how the next race goes!!

Next up......woman finds cojones in ice bath!!!

the dumping of the ice

I am a prize winner!!!

Home again, home again, jiggity jog.....on to the next challenge: the dreaded ice bath.  The husband stopped at QuickieMart and picked up two 10 pound bags of ice while I filled up the tub..... TenacityChris suggested I do as she does: keep socks on (check), bundle up on top (check) and have a hot beverage to drink (check).  I got in the tub and the husband dumped the ice in.

Goosebumps.  Damn, it was cold!

Oh.My.God.  No one told me that ice baths HURT!!!  My feet in particular were truly IN PAIN.  That was a bit of a surprise.  I thought there was no way on God's green earth I was going to last for 10 full minutes.  But I wanted the prize, dammit!  And I can't claim a prize if I don't do it up right.  So I gritted my chattering teeth and sucked it the hell up.  Honestly, after a few minutes the pain really did go away.  It was frickin' cold, no denying that, but not unbearable.  So, all in all, really rather anti-climactic.  Another training wonder!  Good lord, who knows what else I'm going to learn to like.

Can you tell which part of the leg
was submerged in freezing water?

Fast forward to today, and my legs feel great - even my misbehaving knee.  So I guess I will keep trying the ice baths and see how they go.  Another trainer congratulated me on my race and my first ice bath.....then said I had to do ice baths weekly AND not complain.  Ummmm, I make no promises.  On either front at this point. But especially in the complaints portion.  Baby steps people, baby steps!