Race for the Cure

Just one year after my mother-in-law's diagnosis of breast cancer, we walked as Patsy's Posse at this year's Race for the Cure. Amazing. Awesome. The whole family was in on the walk, 1-mile of family support. Grammy's two sisters, one niece, two grandkids (with one more cheering us on), husband, sons, my parents, and I all participated in RFC for her.

After the 1-mile walk, we stretched and warmed up for the 5K. With a 10K just two weeks ago, I just wanted to run strong. And I did. I finished in 31:30, which is actually my fastest yet. I wasn't in it for speed...but I was still a little disappointed that I didn't hit the 30 mark. My parents, on the other hand, rocked! My mom finished in 25 something and my dad was less than 30 seconds behind her! He tends to be faster, but I don't think he was feeling good today. She turned 50 in March...and I hope that when I'm 50, I can run a sub-30 5K! Heck, I hope I can do that by 40!

Even though I'm a little disappointed with my time, I realize that I ran a strong race, passed people, and did just fine. So much better than last year. And progress is progress.

The only drawback is that after the race I came way too close to passing out. I was on my way to grab an orange or banana and ran into someone I knew who I stopped to talk to...and I could barely focus on her face or words. Dad was with me though, so I knew if I hit the ground, I'd be fine :) I didn't though...but I did find the closest curb and took lots of deep breaths. The best I can figure out is I stopped too soon and my breathing became more "normal" before my body was ready for it to.

I did try some Power Bar Engery Gel Blasts in rasberry...two at the half-mile point because I just wasn't feeling strong. About a mile later, I felt them kick in. It wasn't anything magical or crazy, just a little kick of energy, enough to boost my confidence and move my legs.

I also carried a new water bottle. I've been carrying a water bottle for a while now and really like it. This one by Nathan has a strap with a pocket, perfect for those chews. It worked well.

I guess there was more than one drawback, I found that I had blisters again. I never had any blisters with my old shoes, even if they did remove two toenails. And now, with both my new pairs, I am getting them just about every run. Well, actually, that's not true. I didn't get any until the 18-mile training walk 3 weeks ago where I got many blisters at mile 2. Since then, I've gotten them after most runs. I let the fluid out on Tuesday, and babied them with some antibiotic ointment and band-aids, but they're back like a bad alien movie. They are coming up in the exact same spot every time...inside heels right where the bottom and side of my feet meet. I can feel the hot spot in the Asics, but I don't feel anything coming up in the Saucony shoes. I'm baffled but need to get this figured out before the 3-Day.