That is the time I did the Ridge Run 5K in this morning! I was very happy with how it went, the pace I was able to maintain and the outcome! It was such an awesome experience, again this year, to run through the streets of my neighborhood being cheered on by friends and strangers! It was also very cool to have my husband, son, brother-in-law and niece on the sidelines of the race towards the beginning and again at the end cheering me on! As I was nearing the finish line, two of my neighborhood friends caught my attention from the sidelines and started cheering really loud for me. It felt so great to hear them and it gave me the extra motivation to try to sprint the last block or so!
The weather this morning was more mild than on race day last year, when it was very hot and humid. I noticed a big difference in how I felt physically running in less heat this year, than last. My time was faster than I had hoped for today, or thought I was physically able to do this year, after only training for 2 1/2 weeks! With my time of 35:54, I came in 745 out of 969 overall and 32 out of 40 in my age group of females ages 30-34. Last year, my first Ridge Run/5K, I did it in 33:28, though I had been training for 2 1/2 months that time and was overall in a lot better shape. With the heat last year, I have often wondered if I could have done it faster given weather like we had today. I was very proud of some of my friends, who I ran with last year and trained with again this year, as many of them beat their own personal bests today (some even breaking the 30 minute and 29 minute marks)! Their personal successes today also encouraged me that I might be able to do that too someday, as these women ran the race last year in times close to what I ran it in last year.
I was also very proud of one of my sister-in-laws today. She had her first child (a girl) last July and just in the past few months began training for a 1/2 marathon! She did a great job running in the race today and I know my brother-in-law and niece were very proud of her too! Anyway, for those of you who have trained for and run in any kind of race you know what a great sense of accomplishment it is just to finish and know that you can do it! It definitely felt awesome this morning for me to reach my goal of running in and finishing this 5K race today! WAHOO!!!
As I have shared in other posts over the past 2 1/2 weeks, training for this race has been very therapeutic for me… It really helped me to work through our 1st IVF cycle not being successful. I have found running to be a great outlet for me! I am able to process my thoughts and emotions either through talking with friends that I run with, or by listening to inspiring songs on my Ipod. The physical exertion helps me to burn off steam and regulate mood swings. Training for this 5K today also allowed me to have some control over a goal in my life, and feel a real and tangible sense of accomplishment, so soon after a goal that I was not able to reach or control the outcome of.
The rest of our weekend was a lot of fun, though was somewhat overprogrammed! Saturday morning Sean and I both got haircuts and I got highlights (very fun going into the summer months)! Bob and I spent much of Saturday and Sunday attending festivities surrounding the ordiantion of one of Bob’s high school friends (including the actual ordiantion mass on Saturday afternoon, a reception that evening and then his first mass, as a priest, on Sunday morning). My parents graciously watched Sean on Saturday so we could experience the ordiantion without distraction. Neither of us had ever had the opportunity to witness an ordination and it was truley an honor to be a part of this wonderful event in Bob’s friend’s life! We also brought Sean to the mass Sunday morning and it was neat to explain that Daddy’s friend (that guy on the alter) has just become a priest the day before! Sunday afternoon we celebrated with one of my college friends and her family at my friend’s son’s 1st birthday party! It was great to catch up with some of our college friends at the party and so adorable to see my friend’s son experiencing all the cute milestones associated with a first birthday, such as sinking his little hands into his birthday cake and smearing it all over himself, while basking in the joy of tasting the yummy cake and sweet frosting!
When we go home last night, after we got a very tired Sean down for bed, I was clearly also tired, stressed out and tense. I was trying to get some things done around the house, that I hadn’t been able to earlier because of our busy weekend, and Bob had the presense of mind to try to help slow me down, as well as calm me down. I have found this IVF cycle so far to be more emotional/hormonal for me than last time and Bob has been aware of that. Anyway, Bob suggested that I take a break and join him for a beer on our deck. It was a really great idea and just what I needed at that moment! We sat out there relaxing, chatting and enjoying the beautiful evening weather for a few hours! We both agreed, when we decided to go back inside and get ready for bed, that we should do that more often!
Now that I am done training for the Ridge Run 5K, the time has come for me to focus more fully on this, our next IVF cycle… Later this evening I will do another Lupron (10 unit) injection and then take my 2nd to last pill for this cycle! I am getting excited to start the stimming phase of this cycle towards the end of this week or early next! Thank you, as always, for your support, thoughts and prayers! I hope that you and yours had a wonderful Memorial Day!
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