Another Race

On Saturday I participated in the Zach Tucker Memorial 5k.  My dad did this race with me.  He can run circles around me, but he stayed with me anyway.  As a result, he only took 5th place in his age group, which was "60 and over."  He probably would have been in the top three if he had run us best race.  Even at my slower pace, he was in first place in the "70 and over" group, but the organizers didn't include that category.

I finished in 44:56, which is not my best time, but it's better than the last race, so that's good.  I was in 8th place out of 19 in my age group, so that was also good. 

I've got to improve my endurance, but it's so hard with back and neck problems.  On some days when I plan to run, I find that I just hurt too much to do it.  I've got to push myself more on the days that I don't hurt so that I can run for longer and longer periods.  I plan to run some tonight, and will push for at least two 3 minute runs. 

Stay strong!
Cheryl

Discouraged, but never giving up!

I've been feeling a little discouraged lately.  My blood pressure has been high, and I've had to add a new medication to try to get it back under control.  I had been hoping that all this healthy eating and exercise would help me to reduce the number of meds, and instead I'm increasing them.  Very frustrating. 

I've also been feeling like I'm not progressing on the running fast enough.  I can still only run consistently for about 2 minutes.  On a good day, I might get in one 3-4 minute run, but after walking a bit, I can't do that again.  With 2 minute runs, I can repeat it a few times.  My dad (a fitness instructor and my greatest cheerleader!) reminds me that I'm in it for the long haul.  I don't have to run an entire 5k TOMORROW!  I just want to do it EVENTUALLY.  Still, I thought I would progress faster than I have. 

I have another 5k coming up on 10/26.  This is the Zach Tucker Memorial race, and I believe this one will include some running on trails.  It's also beginning to be cooler in the early mornings, so hopefully that will be conducive to a good race time.  I'm still just trying to finish one in under 40 minutes.  My dad will be running this one with me, and I fully expect his time to blow mine away!

Keep moving friends!
Cheryl