It's Supposed to be a FUN Run

At the finish

Saturday morning, on our drive to the Easter fun run at Lodi Lake, I asked Mike if he thought it was weird that I was nervous about doing a 5k.  I mean, I have done several of these races, so it's not like I was doing something new.  Mike said "You're nervous because you want to win and you know you will be upset with yourself if you don't". Whatever!

Actually, I don't go into a race thinking I have to win.  Would I like to win? Sure! A lot of times I get nervous because I think others expect a certain performance. When Steph asked what my goal was, I said I would be happy with something in the 23's or 24's.  I'm not sure she believed me, but I was dead serious.  I've been training hard lately and my legs felt tired.  I wasn't even sure I was going to run this race until the last minute (this was the first time I registered at a race instead of online).

Besides not feeling 100% like racing, my iPod died, and when the race started I pushed the wrong button on my Garmin and was unable to time my race.  After the race, Mike commented that he couldn't believe I was screwing around with my watch and trying to run.  He said he didn't even know why I needed the Garmin for a 5k.  I explained that I like to see my pace.  I also like being able to upload my race into my training log :-)

1st Place & Top Female Master

I finished the race at 22:52 so I was happy. My goal is to eventually finish in the 21's, but I don't see that happening during my training for Barb's Race. It felt good to be able to push through the fatigue and my desire to quit.  Seriously, there were a few times during the race that I thought "Why are you doing this?".  Of course, after it was all over and I was happy with my effort, I remembered why.






Swim Practice

After the race, Mike and I headed over to Lodi High for swim practice.  There was a nice turn out considering it was Easter weekend but we had plenty of room to spread out.  James had prepared a 2,100 yard workout for the advanced group.  It kept us busy and gave him plenty of time to work with the other swimmers.  We completed the workout in an hour which was a real confidence boost.  Based on the yardage and  the fact that we were taking breaks in between the sets, I should be able to finish the swim portion of Barb's Race in under an hour ;-)

I shared a lane with Stephanie and Eric.  Eric has improved so much that he went first for many of the sets. Mike's swimming has come a long way too.  He may not realize it, but he is swimming longer distances, his stroke is vastly improved, and he is much smoother in the water.  His next step is to try out his swimming skills in open water!  However, I think the backyard pool will be the first body of water his wetsuit will see.

Easter Sunday Run

We decided to go to Saturday night Easter service to avoid the crowds on Sunday morning.  Mike, however, volunteered to return on Sunday morning to usher for the first service.  After Mike left the house and the sun was up, I headed out for my usual Sunday run.  I must say, it is much nicer running in the morning (especially since it had rained the night before) than in the afternoon when things heat up.

I was tempted to skip this Sunday run because I have the Ice Breaker next Saturday but I reminded myself that I could not taper for every race.  Ice Breaker, the Angel's Camp triathlon, and the Tri for Fun are my "B" races or training races.  Barb's Race is my "A" race and must remain my focus, even if it means I am not performing at my peak at these other races.  My legs felt pretty tired, but overall it was a good run.

Easter Sunday Run by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details

The Week Ahead

Monday - P90X Stretch-X
Tuesday - Fleet Feet Tuesday Night Run
Wednesday - Swim
Thursday - Ride
Friday - Swim
Saturday -  Ice Breaker
Sunday - Long run