by Claire on September 27, 2009
I know Kirkland fairly well – my mom has lived there for the past 16 years – so I figured that I knew this route really well. I do, however, I underestimated how much of a gradual uphill that whole first mile is. Then from mile 1 to 2, it’s downhill, then the last mile is flat with a quick slight downhill sprint into the finish line.
This run definitely felt harder than my first one. I think possibly because yesterday I walked nearly 7 miles with my friend, and have been feeling a bit run down after all the worry and stress surrounding my mother’s surgery and aftercare. I made sure to get plenty of sleep last night so I’d be as rested as possible, hoping to improve my time from July, where I completed the 5k in 38 minutes.
I succeeded. My time for this event was 36 minutes, about an 11 minute mile pace. I started by taking off fairly hard, but it was uphill and only managed about the first 1/2 mile before I had to walk t0 catch my breath. But throughout the whole race, I only walked a few paces each time, and quickly picked back up running, and sprinting as hard as I could the last bit across the finish line.
I really wanted to do this one for a variety of reasons. First, it was in Kirkland. Back in May, I saw runners finishing a race there and finally understood what these things were all about. (Read my post about that here.) This race was my chance to experience this for myself.
Also, a friend of my daughter’s is expecting twins, plus we recently had some fetal testing done for my other daughter’s baby. I felt running in this race was my tribute to both of them. Incidentally, the doctor who performed the placenta tissue test on my daughter was there at the race as a featured speaker and also a runner.
Next year, I want my grandkids to join me and do the Kids Fun Run. It was so darling – they essentially just run around the block, but a cute guy about 6 or 7 won the fun run. I can just see my grandkids doing this. I got really choked up watching that.
Now,I’m looking for one to do in November. Funny, they had a brochure in the SWAG gifts bag. Guess I’ll check that one out next.
Tagged as:
5k,
fetal hope organization,
Fitness,
kirkland wa,
race for fetal hope,
Running
by Claire on September 26, 2009
So the stress I’ve been in has eased up momentarily, at least enough for me to drop 2.2 pounds. That’s a net loss of about a half pound in one week, so that’s fine by me. A healthy weight loss is about 1/2 to 2 pounds per week.
I’ve also picked up my activity this week. Getting out and moving is a fabulous stress reliever for me. This week, I ran my regular running route twice (3 miles), climbed the stairs at my mom’s nursing home (almost 4 flights up to her floor) at least twice a day (I never take the elevator there anymore), walked from her nursing home to the mall and back (about 6 city blocks one way).
This morning, I went on a 10K Volkssport walk with my regular walking buddy. This was a beautiful walk. I lived near this area for 10 years and never knew any of these trails were here. Some of the walk was almost like hiking up in the Cascades or something. The weather was perfect for a fall morning as well with the clouds breaking away and the sun coming out to a soft 70 degrees. We started out at 9 and finished up about 11:45. Straight walking would take me probably an hour and a half to do 6 miles at a 15 minute mile, but we stopped now and then to follow the map and to let this little one take a break.
Yes, Little Miss Lily came with me on her first Volksswalk! I’ve brought her with me before, but usually just left her in the car because I wasn’t sure how she would do, and I didn’t want to carry her the whole 6+ miles. This time, since the majority of this was off road, she came along and she did awesomely. She walked nearly the whole way, and, as my mom said, she probably could have walked the whole way – it was just in my head that she couldn’t. She was so cute too – getting all sorts of compliments.
Tomorrow I have to get up early and head off for my second official 5K run. This one is for the Fetal Hope organization – a new cause close to my heart. In my first 5K run, I timed at 38 minutes. I’m hoping I do as well this time, if not better, but there is more uphill in this route. Plus, I feel like I’m starting to get a head cold, and that is bothersome to me. Anyway, at least I’m getting some activity and hoping for another loss at the scales on Monday. And if not, that’s okay too – it’s about getting healthy, not just the number on the scale (although I like that too…)
Tagged as:
10k,
5k,
chihuahua,
fall sports,
fetal hope organization,
hiking,
lily,
Running,
volkssport,
walking
I succeeded. My time for this event was 36 minutes, about an 11 minute mile pace. I started by taking off fairly hard, but it was uphill and only managed about the first 1/2 mile before I had to walk t0 catch my breath. But throughout the whole race, I only walked a few paces each time, and quickly picked back up running, and sprinting as hard as I could the last bit across the finish line. 
