March 5k

one of the hills we ran up

Saturday I ran my March 5k (I'm trying to run a race every month this year). This was a small race that I've never run before, but proved to be a good race.

The race was a fundraiser held at a local historical property. There was only about 125 runners, and I managed not to finish last. I'm not in shape, so that's still a concern :) The course description called it a "challenging course" so it wasn't a surprise that there was a lot of hills. I haven't done a lot of hill work lately, but the brief hill work I did last Tuesday with TLM helped me be a bit more prepared than I would otherwise have been.

The course was a mix of paved roads and gravel roads that criss-cross the historical property, taking us on a tour of it. There was a lot of uneven surfaces as we moved from gravel to pavement to patched pavement and back to gravel. It was a nice change of pace from the usual paved roads that 5ks are run on.

I finished running and walking the 5k in 37:33. Not my best finish, but not my worst, either. The race ended on a hill, which is always brutal. I managed to chug/shuffle/gasp my way past another lady half a second (literally- the numbers don't lie) before the finish line. Yay me!

Despite the hills, or maybe because of them, it's a challenging course that can help me prepare for future races, so I think I'll add it to my line-up for next year.

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Physically I felt better than the mud run last month. I am still tired and out of shape, but my legs didn't feel like lead this time (I have a theory about that that I'll come back to). My lung capacity felt on the low side, probably from a lack of good workouts recently combined with two snug bras that made breathing a little more difficult than I'd like. While I can get in better shape, I can't ditch the bras- I gotta keep the girls firmly in place and the compression helps a bit when I go longer than usual between feedings for TLM, since I've left him at home with Mr M the last two races.

Back to how I felt/my energy level: my theory is that it improved because of my vitamins. About two months ago I stopped taking them (I got lazy and never refilled the pillboxes), but last week I started taking them again and within a day my energy levels were improving. Considering I haven't been feeling great lately, the boost in energy has been very welcome.

On the one hand, it's a bit discouraging that I'm dependent on supplements (I have to take 5 or 6 morning and evening) for my body to function as it should. On the other hand, it could be worse: at least I'm not dependent on medication. This has been a good reminder that I can't ignore my body and expect it to work properly. You'd think I'd know this by now, but despite the years of experience, I still forget/get lazy/rebel against the constant vigilance needed to stay healthy. It can be exhausting trying to stay on top of everything, but letting things slide leaves me feeling even worse.