Returning the favor.

Survivors of a cold, wet 5K. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Way back when I started this blog, one of my first posts was about how an ex-boyfriend pushed me to sign up for my very first race: a 2007 Valentine's Day 5K. This past Saturday, I finally returned the favor.  My lovely boyfriend Andrew joined me for the first leg of the 2012 Annapolis Striders' Champ Series and his first race ever. Fittingly, it was a Valentine's Day 5K.

I wish I could say we both ran amazing races and finished feeling like rock stars. In reality, we both struggled. For me, the struggle was accepting where I am vs. where I used to be. Last year, I started the Champ Series on a real upswing. I was in great shape and steadily getting better. That day, I hoped to finally finish a 5K in under 30 minutes. I didn't quite make it- my final time was 30:16- but it was still the start of an amazing racing season. A little over a month later, I ran a 5K PR of 27:19 and I did two other 2011 5Ks in 27:28 and 27:30. In fact, I ran PRs in every distance in 2011. It was such a good year that I started expecting to PR in every race, and I was rarely disappointed.

As I've mentioned in my last few posts, this year is different. Some big (and terrific) life changes had the unintended side effect of throwing me way off my diet and fitness games. I know I'm heavier and slower than I was last year, and getting my usual training in has been a real struggle. I approached this race hoping that I could at least beat last year's time, but fearful that my decline would be even worse than I realized.

I was determined to run the best race I could manage. Andrew, being a wonderfully supportive and understanding person, got that. We talked before the race about how we wouldn't be running together and he wasn't upset when I zoomed away from him at the start, looking for a faster group to set my pace. In the beginning, I ran a pace of about 9:15/mile. Pretty soon, I realized that I could not maintain that pace for the whole race and started mentally berating myself: "What's wrong with you? This was an easy pace last year!" I slowed down and started focusing all my energy on pushing those negative thoughts away. Eventually, I settled into a pace of 9:30-9:45/mile and began a steady internal monologue of "Just stay here and you'll finish under 30 minutes. Just try to finish under 30 minutes."

After I turned around at the halfway mark, I started passing friends who were a bit behind me. They all updated me on Andrew's progress: "I just saw him and he looks good!" Finally, I spotted him myself. He didn't look like he was having fun, but he was able to grunt at me as he passed. That gave me a little boost going into the end of the race... and I needed it. Two miles of heavy breathing left me pretty nauseous going into the final mile. Just as I started to see the finish line, I became convinced that I was actually going to puke in a race for the first time. In fact, as I rounded the last corner, I weaved over to the side and dry-heaved. Fortunately, nothing came up and I dashed for the finish line to end it.

As soon as I turned in my chip, I found a group of Striders buddies and we all started saying the same thing: "Well, that SUCKED." It seemed that everyone was in agreement: we spent the winter running long and slow and we had forgotten how to run short and fast. Realizing that my friends had struggled too made me feel a lot better about my race. After a few minutes, Andrew crossed the finish and joined our group of whiners. He got there just in time to hear my story about dry-heaving, at which point he commented "You are really selling me on this running thing."

Tired, but still triumphant, we hobbled back to my car. I had Andrew pose for a post-race picture with his Valentine's Day present: a new Garmin!

What a handsome 5-K finisher! 

I gave Andrew the Garmin to say "This is your first race, and I hope its not the last." Later that day, he gave me an even better present along the same lines. He signed a lease on an apartment in my neighborhood and he joined my gym! So, we will no longer be the long-distance couple who use each other's visits as an excuse not to exercise. Now, we will be the couple who meet at the gym (almost) every morning! In fact, we started our day there on Monday.

And, while I'm sharing good news, I'll share this too- my official finish time was 29:41 and Andrew achieved his goals of running the whole race and not being last in his age group. Hooray for us!