Running Mom's Motivation

Yesterday was race day. The 31st annual Crim was held in downtown Flint, MI. When people talk about the Crim they are usually referring to the 10 mile race. There are multiple other smaller races. I ran the 8k (just under 5 miles). There are quite a few elite athletes that run the Crim. The fastest 10 miler did it in 47:11. That is faster than I ran 5 miles!

Despite that, I had a great time. Maria once again helped me keep my pace and kept me company for the race. She a great plan all thought out for me. We were going to run the first half of the race at an easy pace and then slowly increase our pace from there to make sure I didn't take off too fast and end up not being able to run the whole way. The plan was great, although we ran the first mile a little faster than we should have. We decided we should slow down for the second, but actually ended up doing it a bit faster. The third mile was slower...probably because I was getting a little tired. The last two miles were awesome. And my last mile was at about 9:36 pace. That is lightening fast for me! In the last half mile I asked a boyscout to splash water on me. His entire troop took this as an invitation and at least 4 people poured water on me...I came into the finish soaking wet and my underwear didn't dry out for hours!

After the race David and the girls walked the 5k route (girls in the stroller). They started up right when some nasty ran blew in, but David did an excellent job and it sounds like the girls had a good time.

There was free pizza and beverages (pop, water, beer, gatorade, juice) for all the participants after the race. There was a DJ, dancing, lots of food vendors and blow up slides etc for the kids. Flint has deteriorated quite a bit over the last 20 years, but they still know how to throw a party!

My overall time was 54.44. That gave me a pace of 11.01. The pace was 4 seconds faster than my last race which was about 2 miles shorter. I came in 35 out of 56 in my age group. This doesn't seem very good to most, but for a short, fat woman who has always been slow, I feel blessed to be able to move like this. I never could have seen myself running a mile since middle school. Now I can run 5 or 10 and have a respectable pace. I am elated. Thanks to God for helping me turn this part of my life around. It has spilled over into other parts of my life and given me a new confidence. I am looking forward to doing this for many years to come. Faster or slower, God willing, I will keep waddling on.

Total Miles Yesterday = 5 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 449

Posted in: on Sunday, August 26, 2007 at at 2:42 PM