September 11, 2014

Virtual 5K

It was 50 degrees when I woke up this morning. Fifty! I love love love this weather, and I'm hopeful that it's here for the season, and not just teasing me.

After getting the kids off to school, I decided to go to the State Park for my scheduled three-mile run. I had to get a couple of things from Kroger, so I figured I might as well have a scenic place to run while I was out. When I got to the park, I stood outside the car for a minute, just feeling so happy that it felt like fall. It was really peaceful this morning, too.


Dani at Weight Off My Shoulders is hosting a virtual 5K this month for a charity that she's very passionate about, so I had signed up for that. (I met Dani in Boston for the Heartbreak Hill Half, and she is SO sweet!) I decided that since today was such a nice morning, I'd run 3.1 miles and call it my 5K. I knew there was no way in heck I could hit a PR, so I didn't even attempt that--but I ran at a pace that felt comfortably hard.

One of the first things I noticed when I started running?


LEAVES! There were leaves on the ground! I'm so excited for the trees to change color. Michigan's winter and summer isn't exactly desirable, but the fall totally makes up for it. The leaves are beautiful when they change color.

It was a great run, and the weather was absolutely perfect for running this morning. My virtual 5K time leaves much to be desired, but I'll work on getting my speed back in a few months.


I finished in 29:00, a 9:20/mi pace. (You may notice I wore the new Altra shoes--I really like them! I've worn them a few times now, and it's nice to try something different. I'll still use my Adrenalines sometimes, but I like having an option.)


Noah had cross country practice again today, and I realized I forgot to send him to school with a water bottle for practice. So I got him a Gatorade while I was at Kroger, and then Jerry and I went to the school at 2:35 to give it to him and watch his practice.

He did great! He's been listening to my advice not to start out too fast, so he's usually in the back of the pack, but ends up passing people at the end. He doesn't seem to mind being at the back at all, though, which is good. I'm sure his speed will improve as he practices, but I don't want him to worry about that. I'm just glad he's enjoying it!

While we were sitting there, I got a call from Eli's school. The nurse said he had fallen off some playground equipment and hurt his back. She said there weren't any bruises or anything, and she didn't sound too worried. School was going to be out in 10 minutes, and my dad had already told me that he'd pick up Eli, since I was at Noah's practice, so I didn't worry about it.

A little while later, my mom called me to say that Eli wasn't doing well at all. She said his back was really hurting, and he couldn't take a deep breath. So I decided to take him to the emergency room, and I rushed home to get him. When my mom said he couldn't take a deep breath, I was worried that maybe he broke a rib and punctured his lung or something.

He wasn't doing very well when I got home, and I worried the entire way to the hospital. Once we got there, it was a lot of waiting. The doctor checked him out, and said they wanted to x-ray his back and chest. After lots more waiting, the doctor said that his x-rays looked good--nothing was broken or misplaced, and he had probably just bruised it pretty badly. So that was a relief! He's probably going to be pretty sore tomorrow, so I may keep him home from school, but I'm just glad it was nothing serious.

When we got home, we played a game of Hedbanz, so he's feeling quite a bit better now :)


7 comments:

  1. This probably won't make you feel any better, but your "slow" run is still a dream pace for me. I've also slowed up a lot after having surgery last winter and only getting seriously back into running the last month or two and I can barely, maybe average a 12:00 mile for a 5K. Your run looked great to me! (My fastest would've been only a 10:30-11:00 before...)

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    1. I was just going to say the same thing. My current best 5K time is 44:56, about a 14:30/min mile pace. I look forward to the days I can run an average 12:00 mile pace! Either way, we're running and that's what matters most.

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    2. Oh, I've been there! I remember being SO THRILLED when I ran my first sub-12:00 mile. But after seeing much faster paces from a lot of training, it's hard to see my progress slip backward so much. Hopefully I'll get back there again!

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  2. Quite a day. I'm glad Eli is okay, that's worrisome. Also glad Noah is enjoying his cross-country practices. See--running is in his blood!

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  3. Oh poor little guy! If it still hurts make sure you take him back. A friend of mine crashed on a quad and she had x-rays and they told her it was fine. Later she had to go back and she had actually broken a bone in her back.

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  4. Busy Day! Good Run. My fast runs are slower than your slow runs. It's fun to read about your kids running too! You're a Great Mom!

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  5. I bruised my back once (falling on someone's fist during jiu jitsu) and it was awful! For the first week or so I could only stand up for about 10 minutes before it was aching and all I wanted to do was lie down. It was a good 3 weeks before I started to feel "normal". The muscles in our back work hard all day long, so even a "minor" injury like a bruise can take you out for a while :( I hope he starts feeling better!!

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