Post Mortem - 38.29

Well, I did it. It wasn't pretty but I finished and I did pretty much run the whole thing except for the two times I stopped for water and I can't run and drink. If you google my name and Norwell, MA you will find it at the Evan's Race results. I am down pretty far at number 467 out of 499. My pace was 12:22 and my overall time ended up being 38.29 which was WAY above what I had even hoped for. Though there is confusion there because I kept myself to the back of the pack since I knew the more experienced runners would be up front and I didn't cross the start line where it picks up my chip until about 30 seconds after the gun went off. My fastest time ever on the treadmill was 41 minutes and change and I found that I could run better on the ground so I think it's time for me to ditch the treadmill once the weather (ever??) turns nicer.

The end of the race was a little tough and I so wanted to walk at the end but who crosses the finish line walking after running the other 99 percent of the race? I really thought I was going to hurl though. I had to take more than a few deep breaths at the end to make sure I kept my long since eaten breakfast down there. But I was able to resume normal breathing fairly soon and return to a more normal panting and not the leavemylungontheroad type.

Overall, a great experience. A friend of mine told me last summer to find an event and train for it and it would help me with my weight loss. So I finally took the bull by the horns in about February because I knew this race was coming, I had run it three times in the past and all before kids. It's also for a cause near to my heart since I have a younger brother who is autistic. So all of my training went well and the high I feel has been great. The two things I wanted to accomplish during the race went fairly well. First, I hardly walked it though there were definitely a few shuffles here and there instead of good solid steps. Second, I wasn't the last person across the finish line. I also had a third goal of finishing before the 10K people started coming in but I didn't quite make that. I think about 5 or 6 of the fastest 10K people finished before me.

Later that day my right heel felt like it was on fire. It had flared up a few times during the training but I was able to continue to train but after the hard road surface it was VERY painful yesterday morning. Today I just have a few smart pains here and there from muscles who have long since been sleeping. It's a good pain though.

Stay tuned, I am searching for another race to keep increasing my pace. Not sure what I can find but I am thinking of the Komen Race for the Cure in September. That is always an awe inspiring race. There are women there who have battled breast cancer and survived and your heart just pours out to them with their stories of survival.