5K Race Report and a Healthy Banana Split Recipe

This post is a week late-- thank you Reluctant Runner, for the reminder. I ran the ReLove Haiti 5K last Saturday, and I got a PR! I haven't have a 5K PR since a race in August of 2009, when I ran 28:01 in the middle of marathon training. This time I ran an even 27:00, an 8:45 pace. Granted.... the course was a tiny bit short. Garmin showed 3.08, so even if I add in 10 seconds it is still a significant PR. I could have held on to that 8:45 overall pace for another 10 seconds, I'm pretty sure!

It was cold and windy, but very flat. My husband and I did the race together---our first together! We stayed together for almost a half mile, then he backed off a little. He finished in just over 29 minutes, but he runs about 6 miles a month total, so that was AWESOME. He PR'd by about 2 minutes.

I had hoped to PR in the 5K. However, things weren't looking great when I struggled through a 5-mile run on Tuesday and then came down with a stomach virus Tuesday night and Wednesday. On Thursday, I was feeling a little better, but I'd say I wasn't quite 100% on race day. During my warm up, my legs felt very energy-less. But when the gun shot went off, I was flooded with adrenaline and willed myself to run sub-9 minute miles. My first mile was exactly an 8:45 pace. In the 2nd mile, I fell off pace a little and had my slowest mile, but mile 3 was my fastest at 8:42. I flew through the .08 trying to pass another runner (unsuccessfully), but was so happy. Yes, being one second away from anything in the 26-range is a little annoying, but I think I will get it in the next flat 5K. (Note to self: look for another flat 5K race. It's hilly here in Tennessee, so they are few and far between.)

So....... I have had a 1-mile PR in the last month. And a 5K PR in the last month. In two weeks, I will have a half-marathon....... PR???

Today, I ran my last long run, 13.1 at an easy pace of 10:33 overall on a moderately hilly course. It was actually faster than my last half-marathon in September, when I was coming off an injury on an extremely hilly course. I was feeling good up until about 9.5, then it got sort of hard today. I think I ate too little breakfast (a bowl of Special K Proten Plus with a few raisins and coffee). The half-marathon PR time to beat is 2:09:44, a 9:55 pace (though Garmin had me at 9:49 pace that day).

In October, I ran a 10K at a 9:33 overall pace and in November, I ran a 5-miler at a 9:02 pace (big PR there!). Can I run 13.1 at faster than a 9:55 pace?

The race pace calculator at http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ says I can based on both my recent 5K and 5-miler. It says I should shoot for 9:36 per mile and finish about 2:05:54. Yikes. That sounds hard. That would be a minute faster than every mile today. The good news is that it is another FLAT course. What do you think? Can I do it?

On to my other two favorite topics: Crossfit and Clean Eating!

I have found a new Crossfit group! There is a group of women who meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays to do Crossfit. It's $10 per class. I joined them last Tuesday for a very difficult workout and was so glad to not come in last! We did walking lunges for 100 meters carrying between 16 lbs. and 40 lbs. and then sets of 21 burpees for FIVE ROUNDS. Ouch. I estimated I did between 100-150 lunges and counted 105 burpees. I couldn't sit on the toilet comfortably for 3 days. Walking and running were painful. But that's just Crossfit! I also did the warm up with 30 pull ups (unassisted), 30 sit ups, and 30 push ups. My upper body was a little sore, but nothing like my lower body. I had forgotten what a hard Crossfit workout does to me! But I really liked the coach---a fellow preschool mom like me (that's where we met) and already knew 3 of the women in the class. I loved having an all-women group. I don't think I like working out with men. I would have gone back on Thursday, but I teach my YMCA class Strength and Conditioning for Runners at that time. We ran 3 miles and did a mini-crossfit workout that day. This could have impacted my run today, I guess. Maybe that was part of why miles 9.5 to 13 were a struggle.

Speaking of struggles, I have been struggling to stay on the clean eating bandwagon lately. I find myself justifying cheat after cheat. I'm only running about 20 miles per week, so I can't really justify eating extra calories, especially from junk. I have found that PMS wreaks havoc on clean eating. (TMI?) But at other times, I crave the good stuff.

Here is a recipe I LOVED from this month's Clean Eating Magazine:

Healthy Banana Split

1. Cut banana in half lengthwise (of course).
2. Top with Horizon Organic 1% cottage cheese. *It has less sodium than other brands and has less of the typical sour cottage cheese taste.
3. Add one tablespoon of Polander All-Fruit Strawberry Preserves (this brand is sweetened with fruit juice, not sugar. I got the one that is fruit and fiber.)
4. Top with a teaspoon full of chopped macadamia nuts. I got the chopped, no salt ones in the baking section.
*I did sprinkle a tiny bit, maybe a half teaspoon, of vanilla Beverly International Protein Powder on it because it makes everything better.

YUM!