You guys – I did it! I finished the Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Five and Dime. That means that I completed the 5K and the 10K – back to back. 9.3 loooong miles, including a climb up the famous Heartbreak Hill!
I attended the race as a Runner’s World blog ambassador, and I had originally intended to complete the Hat Trick – which is the 5K and 10K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday – but then I got pregnant. And running suddenly felt so hard. Running during my first trimester was exhausting (not painful, just tiring). Since I stopped running when I was pregnant with Henry at 16 weeks due to ligament pain, I kind of felt like I was ‘doomed’ this time around to stop early again, too.
But then… I had three doses of serious inspiration.
First, I got this comment from a reader named Haley:
For some reason, it really struck a chord in me. I thought, “YEAH – Maybe second trimester running CAN be different.†I guess I had never considered that I could trudge through it in the first trimester and maybe pick it back up again later. And the thing is that I WANT to keep running. I FREAKING LOVE RUNNING.
Then, I arrived into Boston and got swept up into that Boston running community atmosphere. I felt so AWESTRUCK to be in the most wonderful running city in the entire country (nay, the world?!). I got to meet some really cool people, like Sarah Reinertsen (the first female para-athlete to complete the Kona Ironman) and the famous Shalane Flanagan, who ran a 2:22 Boston Marathon this past year.
And then, last but not least, I hung out with my blog buddies Anne, Julie, and Theodora throughout the weekend. They made me believe that I could actually do the Five and Dime if I approached the race smart – they talked me through a walk/run game plan that had me finish the races at about a 13:00 – 13:20 minute per mile pace. Just knowing that I had friends who believed that I could do it was truly enough…
And so I did it! Two shiny medals. So excited. I’ll do a full weekend and race recap later, but I just had to pop in and say that I feel so inspired.
I’ve really been suffering from the inspiration boo-hoos on and off for the last 9 months or so – about various things for various reasons. I think I’m just in the middle of a huge life flux (clearly!) and hobbies and activities that I hold near and dear to me sometimes get pushed to the wayside because of scheduling or stress or (truthfully) just sheer laziness. I’m definitely been on an upswing lately, but I feel like this weekend especially pulled me from my doldrums. So much of motivation is about surrounding yourself with inspiring people, huh?
Hope you had an awesome weekend, too!
So happy you came and conquered! Running is DEFINITELY different for me during pregnancy but I’m happy I can still hold on to it. Even if it’s only a few miles a day, I’m still grateful to be able to have that “me” time before the baby gets here.
So glad you had a great time in Boston and so sorry I missed you! Safe travels back to your beautiful family. xoxo