National Masters 5K

The weekend was lovely, except for the race. It was great to see everyone (photo with my friend Lis below), Tennessee was beautiful, and I enjoyed myself. The redeye flight out there wasn't so great, and I didn't sleep enough, so I'm tired now, but that didn't diminish my pleasure in the weekend in general.

The race? Yeah, worse than expected. I hoped for low 29s. Barely squeezed under 30 min, and my heart rate was ridiculously high, averaging 167. My legs hurt from end of the first km on, and now (2 days later) they are very painful --- like I'm recovering from a hard half marathon, not a 5K race.

I did come in 2nd place, but that's not saying so much when I was the youngest in the race except for two teenagers (age 14). I was first in my age group...but then again, I was the ONLY one in my age group. Hey, I didn't get DQ'd!

The course was slightly hilly - slight downhill for 1st 500, slight uphill for 2nd 500 in each lap (1k/lap). It also had a complex turn at one end, so I'd say most people were slowed 30 sec-1 min by the course (vs. a fast, flat course). So maybe I would have done low 29s? No matter. The weather was perfect - 13C (55F) and very humid, which was no biggie since it wasn't hot that early. It was warmer for the men's race.

Garmin data here.

I'm frustrated but I'm doing OK. Mostly.

I'm going to take a break from racewalking, and therefore probably from my blog as well, for a little while. I will walk some for exercise, as I'm able, but will not train. I'll try to update if there is any good news or even bad news or something about my condition changes. I know I could blog about trying to lose the weight I've gained or something potentially useful, but honestly, I'm too tired and too afraid I'd be too negative. It takes a lot of energy right now to just try and stay positive in real life, and adding in the blog makes it harder.

Hopefully I'll be back soon.