Silver Strand

Racing in the 5K was so much fun! Regardless of the fact that I had to wake up at 4:30am, it was still a blast. It was cool driving down to Imperial Beach so early in the morning. Just in time for the sunrise. Though I didn't make it there in time to watch it, but I saw a little from the car. 
It was pretty cold this morning. My car temperature gauge read 51 degrees. Brrrr! And I know that it's going to be colder in Las Vegas! But I had my jacket, so I was okay. It was tolerable. I think for Vegas, I need to find like an Under Armour shirt to wear under my jersey so I don't have to worry about a jacket and still stay warm. 
There was only a handful of us this morning. I'd say maybe 8-10 people. It was a nice size group. My plan was to try and stay the same pace as Tiffany, but unfortunately my asthma wouldn't let me. Now I don't want to blame everything on it, but I have a feeling it's because it was so cold outside. My lungs were tight and hadn't warmed up so it was harder to take in the air. I have to figure out something. I really want to be able to run a mile without this feeling of gasping for air and I don't know what to do. The 2 different inhalers that I have which the doctor prescribed me last year just don't seem to work. Though I will have one with me during the race just in case. 
It's interesting. I was able to run for 20 min straight on Wed night, but this morning, I could barely run a mile without problems. I have only about 3 more weeks or so before the race to figure something out. Coach Dave wants to try something for our big long run next weekend. 5 min walk/1 min run for about 2 to 3 miles. Test it out and see if that will help warm up the lungs and get me going. I'm willing to try it. I've noticed that my running has been improving but usually at night and I'm thinking it's because of the time of day and air temperature. 


But on the plus side, I did run the race faster than I thought I would. I had it in my head that I would probably finish the race in about 45 minutes. I clocked in at 41:39 (I think). And I think I was only about 5 minutes slower than Tiffany. Not too shabby. I was running between a 12:35-14:00 mile. At least Coach Dave clocked the first mile I ran at about 12:35. It's an improvement and I'm happy. 


I don't know how I had so much energy today. After the race, I went down to St Vincent De Paul to feed the homeless as I do pretty much every Sunday. It was awesome. I was in a great mood. But once those doors closed and we stopped, I could feel the energy start to decrease. I got home, showered and have been just resting and eating all day. Seriously. Why have I been eating ALL day?! I feel sick. I'm done. I brushed my teeth so no more food for me. Just water. I'm done til tomorrow.

Seeing Results

I have to say that I'm finally seeing some really awesome results from my training of the last 12 weeks. If you remember back when I started writing my blog, I could barely run for a few minutes. I was always out of breath, mostly walking during trainings, and kind of settling on the fact that I'll probably be walking most of the race.
I am happy to tell you that yesterday during training, I was able to continually do the 20 minute warm up at a slow running pace AND was able to run the fartleks part for 10 minutes! Fartleks are the repeated intervals of alternating fast and slow. I am SUPER excited!! It felt really good to be able to keep up with the slower runners or shall I say, runner. Tiffany is one of my teammates who sticks to running every training, but slowly like at a jog. She mentioned it was nice to finally have someone to run with. :)
This Sunday is the Silver Strand 5K and so I'm hoping to keep up the same pace as during training yesterday. Tiffany is running it too, so maybe we can push each other. We'll see.

I was just really excited about that and wanted to tell you all! :)

Fundraising is going well. I'm only $1,547 away from my $5000 goal! Please tell all your friends and family know about this wonderful cause and encourage them to donate.

25 Days To Go

It's hard to believe that there's only 25 days left until my race in Vegas! Wow! Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday I started on this journey again and here it is, less than a month away. I've kinda decided that I don't want this to stop. Meaning, the mentoring. I've really enjoyed the last few months being a support system for a few people. PLUS, I get the exercise too! Jessica Johnson isn't going to be back for the next season (she's taking on new ventures) but I'll be sure to let her know to have her replacement keep me in mind to continue with the newbies.

My fundraising is going well. I've accepted the idea that I won't be able to raise the same amount of money I did last year. I really think it was a fluke. My first half. My first "real" attempt at fundraising (I didn't put much effort into the Relay For Life last time, but I will next year when we do it for my mom). I'm almost at $3500 which is an accomplishment in itself. To had raised even $3400+ is awesome. I made my minimum for the race plus some which I'm proud of. I think I might change my idea of $100 donations for a place on my jersey to $50. It's getting down to crunch time and if that would help get more money to help find a cure for Crohn's and Colitis, then so be it.

All my mentees have made their fundraising minimum. I'm so proud of them. From here on in, they don't have to stress too much and just welcome more donations. They all get their Team Challenge Jackets! I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine! Truely. And we got new running shirts for training. Great material and a new saying on the back. "Let's leave the CRAPS in Vegas!" I love it!

This Sunday I run the Silver Strand 5K in Imperial Beach. I'm looking forward to it. I have yet to run a 5K. I jumped straight to the half. Go me! I'll be wearing the new shirt and sporting my Team Challenge gear. Then probably hop in the car and head over to the Hunger Project and feed the homeless (my ritual Sunday morning). I'll let you know how it goes. I'm hoping to finish within 45 minutes. It's only 3.1 miles which is nothing in comparison to 13.1, but it's a good way to practice pace for race day.

Have a good week everyone!!