I am overjoyed to report that I successfully ran the Saint Paul, Minnesota Monster Dash 10K on Saturday, October 26th, 2019!!!
Not only that, no part of my body hurt while I was running! Considering that I have a constant minor case of plantar fasciitis in my right heel, a weak butt and random shoulder pain, I felt blessed and delighted that I felt fantastic for the entire 80 minutes it took me to run those 6.2 miles.
In addition, my dear writer runner friend Shirlene showed up to run despite having battled a cold/flu situation for almost a week before the race!! A race is so much more fun when you have a friend doing it with you!!! Shirlene additionally has exercise induced asthma that is triggered by cold, which it was on Saturday morning.
We started off the morning by warming up by walking fast and wearing our purchased the day before Monster Dash neck warmers over our faces, to warm the air before it went into our lungs. That helps with the asthma situation.
I had gotten up at 6 am, three hours before the race started, to take a full insulin dose to cover the 50 grams of carbs I ate in the form of oatmeal with hemp protein powder and chia seeds with fresh blueberries, strawberries and walnuts. I wanted there to be “no insulin on board” at 9 am, when I started running.
At 8:15am as I was arriving at the race venue, I sat in my car for 10 minutes drinking a packet of UCAN. I confess, I do not love the flavor or taste of UCAN, but it does work!!! For the entire race, all 80 minutes, my blood sugars were ideal. I only needed to consume one 22 gram packet of gu.
It was fun to see everyone in their costumes. Shirlene and I made it simple. We wore black and orange. That was all the dressing up energy I had.
The one cool thing about racing on October 26th was that I had been feeling disappointed and down (more on that in a few weeks) and exercise is reliable. Endurance exercise consistently brings me out of mental struggles and puts me joyfully in my body. I’m not a fast runner, but I am a consistent runner. And that makes it all worth doing!!
I was so happy about the run that I immediately signed up for the Polar Dash 5K that will be outside on January 4th, 2020 in Saint Paul!!! Luckily I have excellent winter gear for such a crazy winter race!
How about you? How are you enjoying this autumn?
Mari and Shirlene warming up before the race! Keeping our lungs warm!! Shirlene crossing the Monster Dash 10K finish line!
I am enjoying hearing about your races. Especially since I am in turtle mode at this point of my life. I can’t walk any faster even if I try. Hopefully I will soon have a working knee and be able to pick up some speed!
Cathy,
I have no doubt that before you know it you will be race walking and running!! Plus best of all, out biking!!! Hang in there!