Long overdue for a post. Long overdue.  I have been meaning to do my Claus Cause 5km recap for a few weekends, but never got around to it. Also wanted to touch on some of the other running-related things going on with me.

On Saturday, November 21st, I ran in the Runner’s Soul Claus Cause 5km. This is now the third year in a row doing this event, but the first time doing the 10km. I knew I wouldn’t be in 10km racing form by this time, so I was playing it smart picking the 5km. Thing is, I wasn’t in any distance racing form…and while I knew this in the back of my head, it wouldn’t be clear to me until after this race.

The weather was the nicest for any Claus Cause I’ve been a part of. With a 9 am start, I was able to get a normal amount of sleep and get down to Indian Battle Park with plenty of time. I lined up at the front next to my friend Bob all set to go. To say I was a bit anxious is an understatement-I went out with a ridiculous pace that there was no hope in holding. It had been a long time since doing a road race (Disneyland half marathon was my last traditional race, and that was Labour Day weekend) so I had a lot of pent up energy. When my first mile clocked in at 6:34, I actually think I started laughing, as this was my goal pace I tried training for all summer for the Disneyland 10km. My ass was burning, my legs were already yelling obscenities at me….this was not going to be a pretty two miles to follow.

I won’t even go in to detail, but my second mile slowed to a 7:14, and third even slower to a 7:22. Maybe if I hadn’t been so stubborn I could have gone out with an even 7 minute mile and hold that comfortably for the whole race. But no, I decided to take my out of shape self to the limit and feel like crap. I finished with a time of 22:04; a time I would have been really excited about a year ago. In April, I ran a 20:42 in the Coaldale 5km. But, that was at the peak of my BMO Vancouver a marathon training. I was in the best shape of my life, so for me to go out there at the Claus Cause and expect anything even close to that was asinine.

My 22:04 was good enough for 2nd female overall and 2nd in my age group. I hung around for a bit chatting with people, and when I got home I immediately felt like garbage. My body ached, I was sneezing, sniffling and had the chills. I took a shower and then bundled up in sweats, curled in a ball, and was a complete pile of shit the rest of the day. You would have thought I had just completed a full marathon.

What have I learned from this? That I am out of shape. But…I knew that. I had been taking it really easy since my Spartan Ultra Beast, and been just getting back into daily cardio. My body needed the rest this fall, as I pushed it to the limits earlier this year. I am now dealing with trying to handle my foot issues-a bone spur is prominently taking over my right foot, and surgery is tentatively being looked at for in June. It hurts on a daily basis. I also had a Gait-Analysis completed at FIT Physiotherapy, and had some startling results. The main issue is that my gait is considered a “cross-over gait.” I am working at trying to correct this slowly, also while using my custom orthotics. I have a lot to work on as I start getting ready to begin my Boston Marathon training (which will start the last week in December.)

One very positive thing that has happened since the 5km blunders and foot/gait issues is that I have been streaking since December 1st....Our local store Runner’s Soul has their annual RunStreak going on. You just need to run at least a mile a day, every day in December. If you do, you submit your run each day to their Facebook page to get entered in for a daily prize. I have done that mile a day, and many other days have gone farther. Friday, I went for a solid 4 mile run and felt great. Getting my cardio back up to a basic level has been my goal this whole month, as when I start following my training plan I will need to be set to push. This RunStreak has gotten me excited and motivated to get back at consistent training, with my training ending at the race of my life, The 120th Boston Marathon.

I hope to do one more post before the end of 2015. So keep a watch out for that. I need to do a reflection on the year-what was good, bad and ugly. Thanks for reading!