Getting My Rear in Gear

A couple of weeks ago I, along with my Dear Hubby, kicked off my full marathon training season by running a 5K--Get Your Rear in Gear.  My goal was to finish in less than 40 minutes, and my official finishing time was 34 minutes 39 seconds (keeping in mind my first 5K finish was more than 43 minutes).  


The Colon Cancer Coalition organizes these races throughout the country to raise awareness of and to raise funds toward research to find a cure for colon cancer.  In addition to the fact that I work in the Division of Colon & Rectal Surgery at Mayo Clinic, I also have two friends who are battling other serious colon diseases and were in life threatening situations the week before the race, so, even though they weren't fighting cancer, I still ran with their names on my racing bib, and I held them in my heart and prayer as I ran (both are doing much better, by the way!).  


It was good for me to run this race after experiencing the Med City half Marathon.  The Med City race was more focused on the runners' accomplishments (I trained, I ran, I finished, I got a cool shirt and medal, etc.); however, running a 5K for a cause is so inspiring, and the 5K distance isn't very intimidating so it brings many less experienced runners to the starting line who feel that they are doing something to support a loved one by running.  

Then, the following week was my first long run.  Summer is here in Minnesota; no doubt.  I'm experiencing a new season in running--learning to run in heat and humidity is completely different from running in the winter. Both are equally as challenging and require different strategies.  Winter running is all about clothing; summer running is all about hydration.  So, even though I have some experience under my belt I feel like I'm having to start over from square one and re-learn how to cover the distance.

It was already close to 80-degrees at 7:00 a.m. and even the most experienced runners in our group were apprehensive.  I was armed with my Nuun-laced water and sporting my orange Mankato Marathon in-training shirt.  The group was running 10 miles, though my training plan only called for 8.  I thought I'd give the 10 miler a try.  However, with the intense heat I cut it back and did 7.75 miles (close to the 8 miles my training plan called for).

For my mid-week runs I decided to go to the gym and use the "dread"mill since we are under some excessive heat warnings with heat indexes in the triple-digits.  Running outside is much more enjoyable, but dangerous in this kind of heat.  Nevertheless, I got the miles in, and I'm ready for this Saturday's long run--as ready as I can be at this stage.  The good news is that the weather is supposed to cool down a bit with temperatures in the 70's during the morning.

Getting my rear in gear for this season, and looking forward to all God wants to teach me.