Valor: A Tale of Two Races (and Week 29 Weigh-In)

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known” ~ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Remember how I spontaneously decided to join my friends in the Valor 5k this past weekend? It was a great race which supported a great cause, families of first responders. Sounds good eh?

…that’s not even the best part!

It actually consisted of two races. It started with a 5k Road Race and then there was about a 15 minute break before the 5k Trail Run started. I was initially just going to do the Road Race, but I ended up doing both. So for those keeping score, that’s (2) 10k’s in 2 weeks. How’s that for spontaneity?

But guess what? That’s still not the best part!

I accomplished something in this race that I’ve never done before in my entire life.

Something that I thought I was still months away from accomplishing.

Something that gave me a glimmer of hope that my dreams of being a runner might just become a reality yet.

I RAN FOR A WHOLE MILE!

Yes, one whole mile without stopping to walk! It all started during last week’s 10k when I forgot my watch at home. I thought I was doomed to get a horrible time in that race because I didn’t have my watch to keep my on track. I couldn’t have been further from the truth. I actually finished 12 minutes quicker than I ever did in workouts and I believe it’s because I didn’t have my watch. This led me to believe that I had let my watch become a crutch. I started to think that maybe it was holding me back because I was so used to stopping after 60 seconds or 90 seconds of running that I wasn’t pushing myself to go farther.

I was letting my watch control my progress, instead of letting my body be my guide.

So I decided for this race that I was going to start running at the first mile marker and without looking at my watch, just RUN until I literally couldn’t anymore…and wouldn’t you know that I made it all the way to the 2nd mile marker! I couldn’t believe it, and a big part of me still can’t believe that I did it. But I did.

“I’m proud of myself” doesn’t even begin to cover how I felt in that moment. Not even close.

So, that’s my big news from the weekend. Before I get to the pictures, here are my weigh-in results from this morning:

I weighed in this morning at 205.8 lbs which is a 1.2 lb gain for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far to 50.2 pounds.

Wanna know how I honestly feel about seeing a gain this week?

I am MORE than just a number.

(Thanks Jess for that timely realization!)

Besides, I ran a MILE this week. The sense of accomplishment I got from that FAR outweighs any disappointment from gaining a measly pound.

I ran a mile!

Picture time.

Here I am crossing the finish line in the first 5k, the Road Race portion. My official time was 43:43 which is almost 3 minutes faster than my previous personal best.

My buddy Lynne ran this race with me…here we are immediately afterwards. She did AWESOME btw!

Haha, me resting in the 10 minute break between races. Trying to catch my breath is more like it.

Here’s one of the pictures I took during the 2nd 5k, the Trail Run portion.

Most of the trail looked like this, all muddy and just ewwww. It was a much more difficult race to run than the road race. It was really narrow and wooded, and it looped back so I’d have to stop and step out of the way to let the others go. It was tough.

Me hamming it up for the camera during the trail run.

My shoes and ankles after the Trail Run. (I told you it was muddy!)

Here I am crossing the finish line of the Trail Race. My official time was 48:53. See that girl off to the left clapping her hands? She was SUPER cool. She came back and ran the last 1/4 mile or so with me across the finish line. She actually did this for several people. She was really encouraging and not in a patronizing way, ya know? She wasn’t like sneering at us fat girls crossing the finish line…she seemed genuinely interested in WHY we were there and happy for us. Her and another chick, Cheryl, came up to us afterwards and talked for a while. She won 1st in the overall category and Cheryl won 2nd in her age group! It was great to chat with two of the best athletes out there!

All of us after the race. From left to right, Becky, Amy, Mindy, Me, Lynne (Amy is the one I mentioned above who ran with us across the finish line…look at her abs!)

Click here to see the complete gallery of photos from today’s race. I’ve also updated my Racing page here.

139.25 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
45.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(5) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)