Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Week #13: The Phillies 5k

on the Phillies' Facebook page!
Mon 3/23. off
Tues 3/24. ran :50 on the trails.
Wed 3/25. biked 1:00 spin on the trainer.
Thurs 3/26. ran 1:00 easy (but felt hard!)
Fri 3/27. swam :30. first swim of the YEAR!
Sat 3/28. ran 22:15 @ Phillies 5k
Sun 3/29. biked 1:30, moderate spin on trainer while watching Glee on demand (series finale?! Rachel marries Jesse St. James?!)

Totals: swam :30, biked 2:30, ran 2:15 (15 miles) = 5:15 total.

I signed up for "Move It Delaware" last Tuesday, which is a free state-wide 10-week challenge to encourage people to exercise for at least 150 minutes per week. Which isn't much to a triathlete, but it is for a busy, hibernating triathlete and more volume than I've done for the last 5 weeks! That little push combined with slightly nicer weather and settling into our new routine here has helped, as I haven't missed a single day of exercising since the challenge started.

The main event of the week, of course, was the Phillies 5k! This was totally Kevin's idea for me to run it, since you get 4 game tickets (2 pre-season and 2 for opening weekend) with your entry ($50 for a long sleeve technical tee, a finisher's medal, AND the 4 game tickets!). Of course I turned the tables back on him and said if he signed up, we could get EIGHT game tickets...and he's the Phillies fan, not me!

I didn't realize how big of a 5k it was--6,000 people and it had sold out! My expectations and motivation were fairly LOW as I haven't done much in the last month and felt really crappy just running easy the past week. The chilly race morning temperature of "30-something, feels like 25" did not help. Luckily we bumped into the one other Team RWB Eagle who was running, J.R. from the Philly chapter!

starting line selfie with J.R.!
He wanted to know my time goal and I said I had done 21-ish when I was in better shape and in warmer weather, so he wanted to run together as his goal was a 22:30. Good thing J.R. was there to push me, as I really felt like doing a 30-minute jog in the cold!

It was crowded in the first mile, and I still ran a surprising 6:56 while dodging people. I didn't think I had a sub-7 in me! My lungs hurt from the burning cold, and J.R. pulled away at the end of the second mile, but I kept him in sights. Mile 2 was a slower 7:17 and I felt weird and yucky--a too hot torso from wearing a windbreaker over a base layer and singlet, but burning cold lungs, and cold butt from the thin running tights. My last 1.1 miles was just a hair over 8 minutes as I finally spied the finish line and tried to reel in J.R. in his red RWB shirt. I ended up finishing only 4 seconds behind! We went 22:11 and 22:15, which is faster than I felt like doing that cold morning. So thank you J.R. for pushing me to go harder than I wanted to!


And 18th woman out of over 3,500, not too shabby!

Kevin linked up with an old work buddy, Karen, and they walked the 5k together.


He did well for having broken his coccyx and pinkie toe while we were moving last month! We even got to go into the field afterwards...




Someone thought Kevin was proposing at the dugout. Meanwhile, under my beanie, I was a loyal SF Giants fan!

World Series Champions!
Overall I was very impressed with the race organization, the incredible swag, and most importantly, the abundant and clean Porta Potties at the starting area. Afterwards we attended our first Team RWB Philly event, the post-Run As One social, and got to meet more Eagles.


It may be a different chapter, but there's always the friendly members and camaraderie, amazing chapter captain, the selfies, and the crazy running tights. I love being a part of this team!

No comments:

Post a Comment