Today LC and I participated in the HERS Breast Cancer Foundation Keep ABreast 5K, in support of Breast Cancer research.
I found out about this worthy event through Active.com, and I knew I wanted to take part in it. I sent an email out to a bunch of friends, but LC was the only one who could make it. Since she was there when I had a bit of a mental breakdown during the Mermaid 5K, I thought it was appropriate that we were going to do this one together. I feel so much stronger and healthier now than I did at that 5K, and I wanted to have a good 5K experience with my sister. She’s so kind and caring, and even though I know she didn’t mind being there for me when I needed her the last time, I really wanted to share a fun walk with her, too.
When I called LC on Wednesday to finalize our plans for meeting up today, she said the walk started at 9:30, which I thought was rather late, but was glad for the extra time, since Quarry Lakes in Fremont is about 30 minutes from each of our houses. We got there and told them we’d arrived, got our t-shirts (which you see in the photo above), and kind of hung out for a bit. We snapped some photos (which you can see in the Picasa album, below), hit the restroom, and were enjoying the atmosphere.
Then, the 10K runners were starting to arrive at the finish line and it was a bit after 9:30 and I began wondering what time our 5K Walk was going to start, since it was a little after 9:30. We asked a volunteer and she said that it had already started. WTF? We walked back to the registration desk and asked them, and they said that yes, it had started at 9am. It turns out that the website where we registered for the event (AllSportCentral.com) had the incorrect information. Wouldn’t you know it?! LC got peeved, which is so out of character for her, but I told her that it was over with now, so we should just move on from here. She asked if I wanted to do the 5K anyway, and I said I did, but part of me didn’t want to be the very last ones to finish and have everyone think we’d taken FOREVER to complete the 5K. (There I go worrying about what other people think again!). LC convinced me that it didn’t matter, and that we should just get on with it so that we could start our 5K.
So we headed out along the same route that everyone else had taken. It was 9:48 when we started, and it was already getting HOT! Still, the views were so beautiful and we were ready to get started. One nice thing was that I wasn’t feeling pressure to walk really fast because no one was around us. We started out at a fairly slow pace, which is the thing that both Jimmy and the people at TNT told me to do. It’s better to warm your muscles up slowly and then build your pace, rather than going like gangbusters from the beginning, as I usually like to do. I think I just get so excited with the start of these walks that I want to go as fast as possible, but that ends up hurting me in the end. So, we continued along at our steady pace.
After about 1/2 a mile (there weren’t markers up, so I’m not positive how far we’d gone), we saw our first group of volunteers cheering us on. Of course, I had to explain to them that we just started the race about an hour late, which is why we were so far behind. My ego just doesn’t quit. LOL. I also wanted to let them know that they didn’t have to wait for us to finish, since we were so late, and they said they wouldn’t. LC and I just kept walking and talking and enjoying the day. Soon enough, we arrived at another volunteer who started cheering us on (literally. She must have been a cheerleader). As we approached a large hill, I increased my stride and really got a faster pace going. LC mentioned that she noticed that whenever we were near the volunteers cheering us on, I picked up my pace. I guess the positive reinforcement really did help me move a bit faster!
We hit mile 2 and knew that we were almost finished. We couldn’t believe how fast we were going! I checked my watch and saw that we were making really good time. Plus, I didn’t have ANY numbness in my feet at all. I can’t tell you how encouraging that is! I guess losing this weight and becoming much more active really has helped whatever was causing the numbness. It’s still a mystery, but at least I know I’m better.
We finished the 5K in 45 minutes, which is a new personal best for both LC and me!!!! That means we were doing 15 minute miles, which is literally faster than I’ve every gone before!!!!!! I am smiling wide as I type that right now, because I am so happy with myself and my progress. I’m proud of all of the strides I’ve made in terms of my health, and this is just one more indication that I’m getting stronger and healthier.
To top it off, I burned 495 calories during the 5K, according to my BodyBugg, which is fantastic! That’s about the same amount I burn when I’m working out for an hour with Jimmy.
I will say that right before we finished the 5K, I was experiencing a slight bit of numbness in my feet, but nothing compared to the complete numbness that I used to feel. This was a complete turnaround from where I was less than 6 months ago, which is terrific progress.
I feel so great about today’s 5K, that I found another one that I’m going to walk in: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K. It’s on October 31st in San Jose right near my house, which is so convenient.
You can click on the thumbnail below to see photos of the 5K:
HERS Foundation Keep ABreast 5K
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