In May, my daughter Amy texted to say she was signing up to run the Mankato Half Marathon and asked who wanted to join her. I responded that I didn't think I was up for the half but would do the 10K. So, I signed up to run the 5K on Friday evening and the 10K on Saturday morning.
I love running, but my body doesn't always agree with me. So I speed walk 5-6 days a week and run one day a week. Walking fast makes it easy to take off running when I want to. I also throw in some bike riding and hiking for some cross-training.
So, this weekend was race weekend!!!
Carey and I are all ready for the 10K on Saturday.
Sporting our 5K medals.
Today, Saturday was our big race day! We got up bright and early and made it to the start line. We were all excited and a bit nervous.
The 10K started at 8:00 and the Half at 8:30, so Carey and I got to take off first.
I started my running career when I was 40. I have run 5 half marathons, one Twin Cities 10-mile race, and too many 5Ks to count. I have never run a 10K race. In preparation for the race, I ran 3-4 miles weekly, 5 miles a few times, and 6.2 miles once.
My time in training for the 10K was 1:05:37 at a 10:34 pace. I did that on September 23.
I finished the race in 1:01:33 at a 9:55 pace. My overall ranking was 188 out of 587, 104 out of 384 females, and 5th out of 13 in my age group (F60-69) I'm so happy with how the race went. I knew I could do better than I had done in September, and I did!
Carey also got to ring the Personal Record Bell!!! He finished the race in 1:03:24.
After we were done running, we went to cheer on the rest of the runners in the 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon. One of the things I love about running is everyone is happy for the other people running. Whether you are first, last, or somewhere in between. Everyone cheers for everyone!
Jese finished the half marathon in 2:32:03.
Amy finished in 2:32:18.
I am so proud of Amy, Jese, and Carey!
Amy was the driving force for all 4 of us to get running. She had not been doing much running for a while when she decided it was time to get back in shape. She trained so hard for this race. I was so happy for her.
Jese had not run for 8 years when he decided to sign up and train for the half marathon. He had to train through some injuries, but he did it! This was only his second half-marathon.
Carey had never run any races until this summer! So it was really a big thing for him to run this race. Until today, the furthest he had ever run was 5.5 miles. What a great accomplishment. It was fun for me to run the race with him.
I am also proud of myself. At 62 years old, I can still run a race and do good at it.
Today was also a very bittersweet day for me. It was one year ago today that my Mom died. And it has only been 9 days since my Dad died. Since Dad died, every time I would go for a walk, I would find myself crying. Dad is my inspiration with his walking and running. I cannot go for a walk or run without thinking of him. And to not get that phone call from Mom last night telling me good luck on your race was hard. I miss them so much.
My Dad had Alzheimer's. One thing I have learned about Alzheimer's is that exercise is key to keeping your brain healthy as you age. So, I am going to keep walking, biking, hiking, and running until my body gives out. I am running away from the awful disease, Alzheimer's. I honor my Dad every time I take my 62-year-old body out for a walk.
I miss them both so much, but I am carrying them with me every day and trying to make them proud.
Get out and move.....
Sharon