Getting Fit With Bipolar

I can't believe it, but I did it! I completed 3 races within a weekend. I did the Pro.Active 5K in Frankfort on Friday (5/9), Crossroads 5K in Elizabethtown on Saturday (5/10), and Foam 5K Run in Settle on Saturday (5/10).

To be completely honest, I have not been working out like I should be. I have been slacking and using tons of excuses. I went in to the race on Friday just saying that I would do my best and that's all that I could do. If you don't know me, let me share this with you - June of 2013 was the first race I had ever done. It was The Color Run. When I got about 1/4 mile into it, I was huffing and puffing, had shin splints, and honestly - I just wanted to quit. I didn't quit, but that was mainly because my mom was there with me, helping me push through to the finish. Boy was I tired and completely sore at the end of it though. Well, up until this point, I have been working to get better stamina, lose weight, and try to better my overall time with my 5K. My PR for my 5K isn't great, but for me it is - it is 53:57. That's with a LOT of walking.

Now back to this past Friday's race - Pro.Active 5K. It was a cloudy day with high chances of rain and storms. I prayed all day for nice weather because I really didn't want it to be cancelled - especially after driving over an hour after work to get there. I put on my brand new SparkleSkirt and a hot pink top with my new "fearless" Sox Box.

I was ready to rock and roll! I checked in, got my tshirt and little goodie bag, walked back and forth to my car a few times, and stretched out my calves (trying to prevent those awful shin splints). I popped in two pieces of my PlowOn gum, straightened out my Bondi Band, and was ready to get in line with all the other runners and walkers.

I headed toward the back of the pack because I knew I'd be one of the last ones finishing - which was okay by me! I just thought to myself that DFL was better than DNF which was better than DNS. :) And really, I didn't plan on being last!

The race started off slow...people trying to space out some. I tried to remember to practice intervals the entire race - I listened and watched those around me rather than plugging in my earphones (for some reason this seems to work a lot better for me). Right before the first mile, my knee popped, but I didn't let it stop me - I kept on pushing. I thought about those who couldn't race - and even those that weren't making the effort to race, knowing that I was doing something for myself that I couldn't a year ago! I was proud of myself, even if I was slow. I kept going, kept pushing, kept striving to do better! I got to the Capital building and had a few issues with breathing and that's when I remembered my inhaler - whoops, forgot it in the car - oh well, "Keep pushing Lori!" is all I heard in my head. I got halfway around the Capital and started doing my intervals again. I gained a little momentum...I heard people cheering - it was awesome having the support of others. I got to mile two...shew, almost there - well, not really, but more than halfway! I round a curve and there were some high school students cheering loudly which was just what I needed. I pushed, I ran, I kept going. I got near the end and saw the finish line - I heard the announcer. I started running and I didn't plan on stopping until I crossed the chip timer.

I had no idea what my time was, but I knew I did my best.

I got some water, waited a little bit, then looked at the times posted on a storefront window. Oh my gosh! I finished in 49:47 - a new 5K PR for me!

Classic Pic with Ronald McDonald

Funny pic with Ronald McDonald

Crossroads 5K - was a messy morning! Rainy when I got the check-in at Planet Fitness (beautiful gym by the way).

I was really hoping the rain would stop and no thunder and lightning would happen so there would be no delay because I had another race to get to afterwards. Well, it did just that.

We all kind of bundled up near the starting line, ready to start running - the race director said he had a few announcements to make before we got started, then...downpour! Yes, it rained the entire run. But it was okay, we all managed to get through it just fine. It was by no means a "great race" for me, but like I try to do at each race, I did my best. I had to stop at one point due to getting extremely dizzy, not being able to breathe well, nor see straight - but I persevered and continued on.

I finished with a cold, wet time of 51:03.

"No Pain No Gain" - After Crossroads 5K

My mom met me in Elizabethtown and I drove us to Settle to do the Foam 5K Run. We were both so excited for this race, but when we got there, we were both so drained that we weren't quite sure how we were going to pull off racing. I'm sure we would have been much more enthusiastic about it all when we got there if we didn't each just complete a race in the pouring rain (she had just finished running Throo the Zoo 5K at the Louisville Zoo). But you know, life's not perfect, and we went on with it and were determined to have a great time together. Mom and I started walking through a path of trees in the squishy mud to the registration table.

We signed the release (uh-oh), got out shirts, and goodie bags, then checked our stuff in. We were ready to get started. As we made our way to the start of the race, we saw foam flying in the air - that helped pump us up a little. After waiting about five minutes or so, no one else came, so they let us start in our own wave - and we decided we were going to walk this race, rather than run due to being tired, it being wet, and just wanting to spend some quality time together. First part of the race, walking through a massive cloud of foam. Just for future reference...foam doesn't taste that great! We walked some trails before making our way to the obstacles - you know those fun bouncies you see at kids parties...yea, those! We were excited for them, until we realized they were drenched. The first one we came to my mom and I were to each go in opposite ends and race to the middle, climb up a wall, then we didn't really know what was on the other side. I did awesome getting to the wall - I beat my mom there big time. I climbed up the bouncy wall, rope in hand, one foot after the other...until...my foot slipped and I couldn't hold all my weight on a wet rope and fell a good 10 feet to the bottom of the bouncy. At that point, my mom had caught up and saw me fall. Needless to say, it wasn't a nice, easy fall. It hurt! I'm not one to give up, so I tried two more times. I fell both times - it was just too slick and there was nothing to grip onto at the top. At the bottom, where I fell, it was a huge pool of dirty water, with mud, sticks, and who knows what else in it. It definitely didn't taste too good. I didn't feel too great and actually laid there a little bit before taking a back way out. Mom on the other hand made it over the wall and I heard her scream - the other side of the wall was a slide and she didn't know where it ended...it was completely full of foam. When I got back out to where my mom was the guys running the bouncy made me jump in, so I did. I was covered, head-to-toe in foam...when I walked, bubbles came out of me...from everywhere...my shoes, pants, shirt!! We went through more obstacles and more foam - it was fun, challenging, and definitely a time to remember! My mom did amazing and conquered quite a lot. She climbed a huge wall of tires as I cheered her on (I had my share of climbing - as seen by my lovely bruise)! As we finished up, a huge storm came. We ran back to the car in the pouring rain, thunder, and lightning. The storm calmed a bit and we decided to try to get out of the field my Escape was parked in...my poor baby got stuck! Good thing runners are such awesome people and a few of them helped to push my car out of the field!! Boy was it a day to remember - and an awesome (early) Mother's Day spent with my mom. Tired, sore, bruised, beaten up...but fun and many memories!