JustTess on the Run

My boyfriend (Brent) and I decided to run this race at the very last minute. The race was on a Saturday, and Brent and I had agreed to run it the previous Wednesday.

Again, I was completely unprepared. I hadn’t hit the gym at all that week due to work and personal scheduling conflicts. On top of that, I was on-call technical support.

Ironically enough, the night before the run, the entire system at work crashed and I was called to work all Friday evening and night without a wink of sleep.

So come race time, I had actually been up for over 24 hours. My brain was so fried, I didn’t even have the energy to determine whether it was best for me to sleep or to run.

I ended up taking a couple hours of work off so I could head up north to Edmonds to run the 5k anyway… might as well since I had already paid the registration fee.

Like the last race, I went into this one with no expectations. I was running on no sleep and limited nourishment (unless you count all the pots of coffee I had sucked down all night).

I didn’t feel to much pressure to do well either because it seemed like a pretty laid back event. The event was thrown by the city Rotary club… very “mom and pops”… There were no timing chips, just a bunch of dedicated volunteers with stop watches and lap tops.

Anyway, the run was actually a lot more pleasant than I anticipated it to be. The run along the water was short but incredibly refreshing.

In the end, I did much better than I thought I would have. I really did have fun on the run and I ended up getting third in my age category. Not bad I suppose. Brent did even better. That boy is good!

Too bad I had to go back to working on a crashed system at work… bleh!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 05/31/2008
• Time: 09:00:00
• Total Time: 00:30:34.48
• Distance: 3.11 miles
• Average Pace: 9:50.16/mile

I’m a woman from Seattle WA, born in 1982.

My favorite sports include: running rowing walking hiking

My goals are: To improve my running endurance and pace times

My other favorite activities include: Rock/wall climbing.

This is my training blog which I am using to keep track of my fitness progress.

Please come by and read my blog. It will help me stay motivated and keep me on track as I achieve my fitness goals!

This past weekend, I participated in the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes 8K Race.  This being my very first 8K, I went into the event with little expectations. 

To beat the bridge, you would need to be able to run the first 2 miles of the race in 20 minutes.  Running two ten-minute miles did not intimidate me.  Beating the bridge was not an issue. 

In the days, even weeks building up to the event, I must admit, I didn’t do any training.  I ran on the treadmill a couple times out of the week, and hit the elliptical a few times as well.  But never once, in the weeks prior, did I ever try to run 8K straight.  In short, I was pretty damn unprepared! 

With that in mind, my meager objectives for the event included:•         Beating the bridge•         Keeping at least a 10-minute mile pace•         Finishing the 8K without stopping to walk 

So race day comes… 

I was a bit tired from a dramatic night, that spilled into the morning.  I stretched.  I warmed up. 

And then it was time to go. 

I kept a steady pace, trotted over the bridge, and kept on keeping on. 

Around the 2.5 mi area, I started feeling hot spots on my ankles and in the arch of my right foot.  Yup…blisters…. 

But I kept on pushing through, hoping that the runner’s high would eventually kick in.  Unfortunately, it never did. 

Long story short, I ended up hobbling across the finish line with three fat juicy blisters and a mediocre time.   But hey, at least I achieved all three of my initial objectives: 

I beat the bridge…I averaged about a 10 minute mile pace…And I didn’t stop to walk despite the growing hot spots… 

A good four days have passed since the event, and for some reason, I feel unsatisfied.  Although I reached all my goals, I feel unfulfilled and a bit disappointed in my performance. 

May be it’s really time to start pushing myself, and setting higher goals… 

And I honestly cannot wait to redeem myself!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 05/18/2008
• Time: 08:30:00
• Total Time: 00:50:11.20
• Distance: 4.97 miles
• Average Pace: 10:06.06/mile