Epic Battle

Update:

We survived the Santa debacle.  Zack had forgotten about it by the next day, so  Santa didn't have to send an apology letter.  Both boys were spoiled rotten, and we had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas.

I got an email today saying that race photos from a 5k I ran a few weeks ago were posted and ready for purchase.  Wanna see it?

No, I am not runner #729, I am the eyeball behind #729.  Yep! That is my one finisher's photo.  I am actually not too disappointed. It's a fitting finish line photo.  #729 and I were in an epic battle for 56th place the entire last half mile.  I would charge ahead, he would catch me and lead a charge.  I would catch him.  I thought I got a good lead on him and was going to win, but in the last 100 yards, he found some gas that I didn't have, and sprinted by me for the win. But I left it all on the course, so I have no complaints.

Here are Rob's finish line photos of me.  He captured the agony beautifully.

Notice how I look like I can't breath, and I am about ready to puke?  That's because I can't breath and I am ready to puke.  It was a very successful run!  The goal this time was to run as hard as I could for as long as I could, recover for a few minutes and do it again. My measure of success was how bad I felt at the end of this race.  The worse I felt, the better I did.  Running is a very odd sport.

I was chasing a personal record.  My old PR was 30:34, and I am please to announce that my new PR is 26:27.  My next goal is sub 25:00.  I am sure that with a proper race strategy (and there is nothing proper about going out too fast, crashing, and trying to go hard again) I can get a sub 25:00.

During my epic battle for 56th place, I just knew my lungs were going to explode.  I kept repeating to myself, "My lungs can not actually explode." When I finished the race, I started coughing. And coughing. And coughing. Just as I caught my breath, Rob said, "I think your lungs may have actually exploded."  I laughed, and started coughing again.  After some water, coffee, and more water, I did manage to finally stop coughing.  So the good news here is that I still have my lungs.

 - Kat, 57th place