I had a physical this week.  The doctor told me that in her opinion, I should stop running and lose 10-15 pounds, but she was not going to tell me to do either of those things.  It was a very weird non-instruction, I have to admit.  Besides, if I stop running, that would make losing 10-15 pounds a whole lot more difficult.

I ran outside today.  I can't take the treadmill any more.  I think all that pounding on the treadmill has been bad for my joints.  My hip is bothering me, as is my knee.  After today's outdoor run, my knee is twinging a little bit, which worries me somewhat, but I am hoping that a day or two of rest is all I need.  I put in 5 miles today.  Behind schedule in my training for the 10 miler I'm running in April, but being sick for a few weeks will do that to you.  The goal is to try for 6 miles next weekend.  I'll have a running partner then, so I'm hopeful she keeps me going.

I've got a crazy couple of weeks coming up.  Cathedral Choral Society concert this coming weekend, AniMal and Lizett's wedding the next weekend, and then on March 17, I start my rotational assignment.  As part of my fellowship, I have to go work at a different agency (of my choice) for 4-6 months.  I'm going to the GAO for 6 months, and I'm looking forward to it.  It's a strange feeling though, since I've only been at my current agency for 6 months.  It should be a good challenge, so I hope I really enjoy it.  If not, I'm still stuck there for 6 months.

I have decided that the weather in D.C. sucks.  It's warmer than St. Louis, but that means lots more cold rain and less snow.  Not that I particularly want snow in D.C. - no one knows how to drive in it.  Snow flurries?  PANIC!  It's ridiculous.  However, if I have to walk through it, I much prefer walking in the snow to walking in the rain.  At least I can take the metro to work and don't actually have to drive along with all the crazy people on most days.

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MakeTracks07

Yesterday, I ran the Make Tracks for the Zoo 5K.  Sadly, it wasn't actually held in the zoo but rather near the zoo in Forest Park.  Still a pretty good course.  It was a huge race.  I think they said there were 2500 participants - though that includes the run, the walk, and the 1 mile run as well.  Still though.  Tons of people.  Tons of very fast people.  I was just pleased that I kept a pretty steady pace throughout.  So I passed a ton of people during the second mile - people who started out too fast and just couldn't keep it up.  My goal was to just keep a steady pace and run well, which I did/

I ran the race in right around 32:00.  Fast for me!  But still incredibly slow.  I'd like to get under 30:00.  Maybe by next year.

I beat these guys though.

CIMG0318

And these guys too.

CIMG0310

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Well, I've been pretty lax about updating here, but I thought I should do a quick running update.

Today was my second official 5K.  It was my law school's annual Ambulance Chase.

Yes, that's right.  A 5K race that begins with a bunch of law students, professors, and lawyers running down a city street after an ambulance.  It's a really good time.  I didn't run it my first year, because I was a couch potato.  Last year, I had planned to run it and was working on Couch to 5K, but when the school year started, I realized I'd have class during the race, so I didn't run.  This year, however, I was running it come hell or high water.

Well, there was neither hell nor high water, but it was about 40 degrees out.

It was a great race.  5K around our campus.  Lots of hills, but I can't say I noticed too much, because the area in my neighborhood where I run is really hilly.  I started out fast, running about a 10 minute mile, and I figured that'd work against me.

But I kept it up.  And I finished the race in 31:37.  At the end of August, I finished my first 5K in 35:01, and that was amazing for me.  I'm so pleased with my time.

I could have pushed a little more, but ran with a friend through part of it, and kind of stuck with her pace.  But I probably didn't lose more than a minute doing that. 

My next goal is to finish in under 30 minutes.

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I think I'm about 95% sure I'm pulling out of the 5K I'm supposed to run on Saturday morning.  I'm really disappointed by this.

While I feel a whole lot better than I did last week, I'm pretty sure I'm not recovered from my illness.  I'm still on antibiotics, of course, and am taking them faithfully.  I tried to put in 3.5 miles yesterday and got in 2.  This morning, I tried another two, and I was really struggling through the first mile.  I decided to stop after that.  I just couldn't get my legs to move.  I had absolutely no energy.

I don't know what it is.  I have read that after an illness, you shouldn't race for 2 weeks.  Maybe I should take that to heart and not run, rather than risk injuring myself.  Maybe it's just a side effect of the antibiotics.  Maybe it's my diet.  Since I've not been running, I'm not as hungry, so I've been eating a bit less.  Not an unsafe amount less, but probably around 1400 calories/day versus 1600 calories/day.  Maybe that's having an effect. 

The last thing I want to do is hurt myself or end up hating running.  But it is just so disheartening to not even be able to run a mile.  I'm scared I've lost all the ability that I've built up.  I realize that's really unlikely, but I'm still just really upset about this.

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I posted this on my LiveJournal this past week, but I decided to post it here, as I want to try to use Vox to track my running (as well as other friends/family only posts, no worries to those of you not into the running posts).

I ran a 5K this weekend! I have to admit, I was really nervous. This was my first race, and I knew I was slow. I didn't want to be last. My goal was to run it in under 40 minutes, which I realize is slow, but I'll improve. My secondary, secret goal, was to try to run about a 12 minute mile.

Saturday morning, it was raining. I still went out to the race though. My dad was also running it, so we stood there in the rain, chatting with some people we knew. One of our family friends tried to talk me into running the Disney Marathon with her in January. I have to admit, it's something I'd love to do someday. Maybe 2008.

I think the rain kept a lot of people away, because there wasn't the crowd there usually is. And sadly, I think the rain kept away the slow runners like me. My heart was racing when the race began. Right before the race started, my dad turned around and said "Do not pass me." He was joking, I think, but it would have really hurt his pride had his short daughter beat him.

I felt pretty bad during the first mile, to be honest. Part of me wanted to quit, why was I doing this, I hate running. And then I passed the first milemarker and they yelled out my time. Just over 10 minutes. Well no wonder I felt like crap. On a speedy day, I train at an 11 minute mile. So I decided to slow down a bit. Well, that plan didn't work, as I passed mile 2 at 20:30. Clearly running too fast. No wonder I felt so horrible. But I was starting to enjoy myself. The front of the pack had really pulled off, and so we stragglers were left at the end. I was with a group of people, so that made me feel better. I kept passing race volunteers I knew who said "Your dad's way up there!" "I know! I'm not allowed to pass him!"

I really slowed down at the end because my heart was just pounding. At the very end of the race, not much before you make the turn onto the final 2 block stretch, there's a downhill patch. Usually, that would be great. But in the rain, it was slippery and a little scary. I sort of slowly jogged down it - I can't imagine the people who ran down it full speed. Just before the last turn, my shoe came untied, but I wasn't about to stop to untie it! So I sprinted the last two blocks, thought I would die, and finished.

35:01.

I know, I know, you guys are laughing at my slow speed. But I'm really happy with that time! It's WAY faster than I thought I would run it. When I first started my training for this race, I was afraid I would finish around 45 minutes. And my goal was under 40. So this was definitely beating my goal. And now I have a time to beat. I do need to get in better shape though, so that I can run it in 35 minutes and not feel so horrible.

My dad finished under 32 minutes, I believe. He was happy with that. But he said one of the last uphill climbs killed him and he had to walk. I train in a hilly area, so I didn't even notice that there was a hill.

I wasn't even too sore Sunday. I was exhausted on Saturday night though. Monday morning, I hit the pavement again. My next race is in 7 weeks. :)

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