Race Report: A Tale of Two Seasons...

This past Sunday was my goal race for the Cancer-to-5K fall season, the National Race Against the Odds.


Below follows my race report to the Cancer-to-5K group:


Race Report:  A Tale of Two Seasons...


That is, the season I was eagerly anticipating, and the season that actually was.  

At the beginning of our fall season, I was looking forward to getting faster and stronger and healthier.  I felt strong in my first group workout.  I was thinking that I could crush my spring time (39:05).  That season was not meant to be.

Just a few weeks in, my left knee starting hurting.  Not crazy writhing pain, but enough to be concerned.  Took a little time off from running, 

On September 10, I did a fun run.  It was a great 5K race, Light the Way 5K, benefiting Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, that I ran with my friend who runs with me during the week (who just celebrated her 1-year cancerversary).  We got to run in and around Nationals Park (twice!).  I tried out intervals of 8 & 2, and finished in 39:36.  The Presidents came out for us.  Unfortunately, my knee did not appreciate the race.  

With my knee continuing to hurt, Coach Bob put me on walking workouts for a while.  With directions to ice my knee, do leg extension exercises.  Eventually I went to an ortho-doc and he told me I had no major damage, just a problem with my knee tracking correctly.  Followed up with my physical therapist who instructed me to do certain stretches and tape my knee.  The knee eventually started feeling a little better, and FINALLY, a few weeks ago, Coach Bob let me start doing running intervals again.

I was up to intervals of run 3, walk 2.  Then, coming into race week, I caught a cold (I think my third in the last six months).  Had an extraordinarily stressful few weeks leading up to race day.  Work stress, home stress, medical stress.  You name it, I was stressed about it.  Coach Bob wisely told me not to try to workout if I wasn't feeling 100% that week.  Rest and recover.  I unwisely went hiking the day before on the Appalachian Trail in MD.

Race day. I had not yet fully shaken my cold, and my knee was hurting from the hike the day before, but I was hellbent on beating my race time from the spring.  I was crabby heading over to the group in the parking lot and when Craig asked how I was, he got an earful.  But the excitement and anticipation began rubbing off on me.  Negotiated with Coach Bob on my intervals and got him up to run 4, walk 2 :-)   My race day sherpas were Kyle and Judy.  

From the moment we started running, I was on a mission.  I was going to run the heck out of my 4-minute intervals and do everything in my power to beat my spring race time.  But oh, those hills.  Short and quick, short and quick, I kept telling myself.  My RPE was way off the charts.  My watch was telling me that my running pace was in the 10-11 minute range, which is FAST (for me).  Kyle and Judy were steady by my side.  For a while, Coach Bob & Joseph ran with us, during which time he joked that I had specifically timed the 4-2 intervals so that my running would be on the downhills.  Hmmm, that did happen once or twice.  But Coach Bob left us and we found ourselves running up the same hill AGAIN.  Someone on the street shouted - "last hill".  I just snarled at him.  

Finally, nearing the playground towards the end.  But wait - what's this?  Alyssa and Collen suddenly appeared from the road!  (can't wait to read their race reports :-) )

Coming in to the finish I gave one last push to catch up with Alyssa.  My watch said 39:23, but it also said 3.18 miles.  The official race time had me at 39:30.  So who knows.  I did not beat my time from the spring, but I came awfully close, which I thought was quite a feat considering all the hills and crap in my lungs from my cold.  I did spend the remainder of Sunday coughing.  And my knee was angry with me Monday morning.  But I left just a little bit of all my stress out there on the hills in Arlington, and so it was definitely worth it.

My race sherpas & me, photo by Ben Fabella

Brunch at the Mad Fox was a wonderful way to end the season.  Thank you so much to Colleen, Jennifer & Andrea, my race day sherpas and Coach Bob for getting me through this.  I look forward to running with all of you and my Cancer to 5K teammates again SOON!