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| Daddy Lego and I with the Army Run Mascot! |
And what a day it was!
The Army Run is such a special one for Daddy Lego and I. It was where we ran for the first time together last year (after he filled in for my friend, who was unable to run!) and it is to support those in the Canadian Army who fight for our freedom.
We were almost unable to race this year because it sold out way faster than we had anticipated .. But a good friend (thank you, Annie!!) was able to connect us with a husband and wife team who were selling their bibs, and in we were!
Daddy Lego and I knew going into this race that we wouldn't be running it side by side. He had been training HARD and really wanted to go for a 30-minute finishing time. I'm not quite there yet .. I've still got a lot of training and running to get under my belt before I'll be strong enough and fast enough for that! I didn't want to hold him down so I encouraged him to run his heart out and meet me at the finish line :)
Gotta say, even though I was surrounded by 22, 000 other runners, it was lonely. I'm not used to running alone, though I was excited for the challenge - me vs me. I had my running playlist ready to go and Map My Run going along with me to help keep me paced.
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| A few songs got cut out, but this is the majority of my running list :) |
The cannon went off and I didn't cry this time!! I waited patiently for the first few corrals to run through the start line and stood on my tippy toes to watch the runners. I was SO excited for the hubs and was cheering him on!
Then my corral made it to the front and away we went. My plan throughout the race was to keep paced with my music, but I had a verrrrry hard time doing so because of race-day adrenaline - I was going too fast. But I pushed hard and walked when I needed to (but I compromised with myself - if I was to walk, I would have to walk in time with my music, so I was still walking quickly! No breaks till the end!)
I kept getting stuck behind three sets of strollers that insisted on staying side to side .. Once I made my way past them, I feel like I breezed through the run. When I heard through the Map My Run app that my split pace was about 13 min / mile, I was super happy but also nervous - could I keep it up for the whole race?!
Turns out, I could .. And I did!
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| Thanks to Map My Run for these results :) |
I really started to struggle towards the end, but once the finish line was in sight, I got my 19th wind and ran for the end! I cried as I passed the finish line, it's always such an emotional moment for me .. What an accomplishment, for ME to run a 5K!!
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| It's rare that I see a photo of myself that I don't instantly dislike .. thinking of ordering this one for my bib binder! |
Because of my chest cold, I went into the race hoping for a PR but not expecting one .. And I got it anyhow! My official chip time was 45:24, which is 26 seconds faster than last year's Army Run! Woo hoo!!
I'm really anxious to be able to run harder and faster .. Training has really been helpful. The more I train and the harder I push (and the more weight I lose!), the better I'll be. I'm looking forward to someday achieving a sub-40-minute PR :)
Finding my hubby at the finish line was a great treat - and hearing about his 31.17 time was AMAZING!! I'm SO beyond proud of him, and so inspired by him!
It was also really awesome meeting up with my friend and fellow blogger, Joy, who also had a great run!!
Special shout out to my friend Julie, who ran her first half marathon in 2:10:10! Wow! So inspiring :)
All in all, it was a great run .. Can't wait to do it again next year (and I'll be sure to sign up in advance to make sure I don't have to struggle last-minute to get in!)
To those incredible Army troops .. Thank you for all that you do for us! :)
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