31:11

and super pumped because I shaved 3 minutes off of my time from last year in the Bluenose Marathon 5k! Wooot! I didn’t even stop once! Yay me! Results are already up online and I placed:

• Time = 31:11 - last year was 34:12.7
• Category place = 60/164 - last year was 117/246
• Gender place = 189/722 - last year it was 230/523
• Pace = 6:23 - last year was 7:09

I just realized that I'll be in a new age category next year...don't know if that's a good thing or not!

We had to leave our cameras in the car, so we don’t have any actual race pics, so hopefully someone got a good shot of us along the way and I’ll be able to get one. I didn’t end up getting one from last year, but I still might. It meant a lot for me to be able to do the race at all last year, so a few bucks for a pic of me on the route would be worth it.

It’s funny because I couldn’t get to sleep last night and I said to hubby, “I still remember when I first started I was just trying to make it from one telephone pole to the next without stopping and that was where I started. At that point, the concept of hypothetically running in a real race, 5k or not, was so far out of my reach, it just wasn’t something I even imagined I’d be doing.” And he says, “Yeah and now you’re running these things called ‘K’s’!” haha I laughed so hard and it was not a good way to try to settle me down to sleep! It’s so funny coming from him and especially if you knew him.

It was a grey and misty day here in Halifax today and it was “iffy” as to how long the rain was going to hold off. We didn’t know if we were going to be running in the rain or not. Lucky for us, it remained my idea of perfect running weather. It wasn’t raining, but misting just enough to keep you somewhat cool. But because it was a bit chilly, it was hard to know how to dress for the run knowing that you’d likely be standing around before and after. So I ended up covering up and wore a long sleeved running jacket type thing and while I ended up being a bit warm after a kilometer or two, I was okay and was glad I wasn’t freezing after!

Jen and I ran the 5k and Brooke ran the 10. Jen and I waited along the sidelines after our race and it was so fun to cheer on the other runners who were getting through their first lap for the full and the half marathon. I am always so impressed by anyone who does that and we both cheered for them loudly! There were 8000 runners in the Bluenose this year and it felt great to be a part of it.

I am sooooo happy that I did it. There was so much energy down there of happy people. I pushed it pretty hard. My HRM said that my max HR was 189 - average was 179! That's high for me. I felt it too - kinda felt like I might die at a few points! :-D As always, the adrenaline from the whole thing starts making its way out of my mouth and I start talking about running another one in June, maybe even a 10k, for the Johnny Miles, which is the same thing I talked about last year, but I am a still hesitant. I have been quite sore these past few weeks and I’m afraid that I am flaring up and aggravating my MVA injuries and I’m not really supposed to be running anyway. We shall see. My knee has been giving me trouble too, so it was nice that they had a massage tent and being in the first group to cross the finish line because there were tons of massage therapists there to stretch you out and we were ahead of the pack. Why not, right?! The dude stretch out my knee and hamstring and I think it helped a lot. Lots of ice tonight pretty much everywhere, but soooo worth it. This is exactly why I really should be sticking to the 5k’s and not push myself too much beyond that. Too many injury issues. But I’m okay with that and completely stoked to be running at all.

Afterwards, the three of us headed on over to Cora’s for a well earned breakfast and while we waited for our table we goofed around a bit and chatted and we all ended up ordering the same breakfast which was delicious! It was the 1990’s Harvest which was sooooo good and filling! It was cinnamon raisin brioche dipped in french toast batter and topped with some bacon and egg and a side of fresh fruit. I was so into our conversation and tired from all of the excitement that I didn’t even think to snap a pic! Well it’s probably best because that was not a breakfast to be bragging about on a weight loss blog :-D

I saw Lynn before the race and got to chat for just a minute and didn’t get to catch up with her afterward, but I was sooo happy and proud of her for getting out there and participating and walking the 5k even though she was disappointed that her arm surgery was holding her back from doing the 10k like she had

been training for. Super proud of ya Lynnilynn-lynn/Lynni-poo/Lynnalicious :-D

All in all it was a fantastic morning and I’m going to rest for the day and get some ice on the go!