I spent the night of July 3rd tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The next day is going to be my first ever 5k race! This week's training hasn't been all that great. I had a couple of days feeling burnt out and the humidity has been sapping my energy making my long runs painful. Time wise, it's been a bit disappointing as well, nothing spectacular but as far as endurance goes, I am certainly building it up. Gradual but noticeable that an easy 3 mile run leaves me wanting to run another 3.


The morning of July 4th, I was up at 3am pacing the living room. Suprisingly, I was not nervous at all - at least I didn't feel nervous till we got there. I must have gone to the bathroom 6 times before I got myself in line for the race. Now here's the odd part. From the moment I heard the horn signalling us, adrenalin kicked in. I remember sweating, I remember dryness at the back of my throat, other runners running past, some falling behind. The rest was a blur except for the sound of my husband running next to me coaching me telling me to pump my arms harder on hills and "let go" as we burn downhill. Then there is this other voice: "Don't you dare stop!!!".

At one point there was this guy in front of me who stopped exhausted and started walking. The voice said "I know what you're thinking...you CANNOT stop...him stopping does not give you an excuse to stop but the drive to go on...stop trying to talk yourself out of it...just shut up and run!!!" My husband's voice and that nagging other voice went on and on and before I knew it, I was approaching the finish line! I ran 5k in 34mins and 36 seconds - my very first Personal Record and a base to work from!

July 5th - started the morning working on my upper body strength. A little push-ups, a few pull-ups and some weights. I finally realize I need to work on my upper strength more than what I've done the past months. Tonight is going to be a hard run. I hope I'm exhausted enough to fall asleep. Insomnia is still bugging me.

Back to training again for the coming week and next weekend, I'm off to another race with a goal to beat 34:36!





A runner's inner demons >>> [link] [link] <<<