May 14, 2000

Today, we went biking with my parents on the Cady Way Trail. Super easy, all paved, not too long, plenty of rest stops, only 7 miles round trip. Mom did great on her trike, Dad was zipping along on his cruiser. The next time we do that we ought to pack a picnic lunch and put it in mom's trike's carrier.

We came home to my house and ate lunch -- stewed chicken in tomato sauce, vegetable paella, salad, fruit, lemonade. Mom liked the top I bought her.

Yesterday, we were down in Lakeland for the Mayfaire 5K.

We'd taken Paul's mom and sister out to Mother's Day lunch a day ahead, then we went off to the lake to check-in since we had pre-registered. They had a band, food, some little activities for the fans. Paul was fascinated by the rock climbing thing so I gave him all my change and he ran off to clamber up the wall before race time. He asked me if I was going to do it and I laughed. Me?! I'm still working on getting over my fear of heights! He did fine though, and then repelled back down.

We sat around sucking down as much water as possible -- we weren't racing til 7 and sunset is at 8, but even so it was a 90 something degree day all day and it wasn't much cooler in the evening. Ick.

We hung out towards the back of the pack, and when the race started Paul convinced me to jog the first bit around the first lake, The course was like a figure eight thing around two lakes. We went back to walking though because jogging was killing me.

Lesson One: Remember to take allergy meds so I can BREATHE.

We weren't the only walkers, and there was a wide range of ages and abilities so I didn't feel too out of place. My bum ankle started acting up fast though.

Lesson Two: more work on bum ankle, def. see podiatrist.

We clocked the first mile at a respectable 15 min per mile pace, and then discovered the first water station was out of water.

Lesson Three: Bring my own water.

We rounded the second lake and were into the home stretch at another 15 min mile pace.

Paul was really good at pacing us. He's so long and tall that it was great to walk with him. We had accidentally forgotten the pedometer at home. He also was very encouraging and held my hand going up the hills on the last 1.1 miles. I hated those hills. Ugh.

They had cheerleaders from the middle schools cheering people on at the water stations (no water at the 2nd station either), and we had passed a party who also cheered us on. It was someone with a house on the lake and all the party people sat on the front lawn drinking beer and screaming every time someone went by.

Then a weird thing happened -- my left hand started to get all swollen and puffy for no apparent reason. I wasn't wearing any jewelry or anything, so I kept wondering what was going on with it. It eventually went away after the race but it was really bizarre and kind of worried me. I kept flexing it most of the time we walked in the last chunk.

After we rounded this small park, we had to come downhill the rest of the way to the lake. We crossed the finish line at 49 min, 38 seconds. I'd been shooting for 45 min, so it wasn't too bad. It worked out to something like 15.8 average. (Dang hills!)

The finish line also ran out of water (big surprise), so I grabbed a cup of ice and we want back to the car where I promptly took off my shirt and doused myself with the water we had there. We both toweled off as best we could and put on our new race T-shirts. I got an XXL, because I asked NF for an XL and it shrunk in the wash. We didn't bother with the awards or anything, because we didn't place in anything and we wanted to get to his brother's house. Paul's Dad had come down to see the newborn from Tennessee.

Post walk? My socks were rubbed at the back -- I have to look at my shoes and look at thicker socks, because while it was fine for a 5k, I bet you I'd get blistery on a longer distance. I also chafed with my underwear, so no more panties for me on walks! I'll give Coolmax underwear a try on training walks, but I don't know about real walks. I'm not wild about the places I'm chafed! :P

Overall, we had a nice time, and it was a pleasant little experience. I'd like to do another and see if my time improves any but it definitely helped me put the marathon in better focus and look ahead to what I might need to carry with me.

~Astrophe