5k for Katie
October 12, 2008 by Doug
After what seems like an eternity, I finally got back in the groove and ran competitively this morning. This race was a last minute decision, made easier by the fact that my wife didn’t think that I would get out of bed for it. Ha ha Honey, proved you wrong 
This race benefits the National MPS Society. In particular, it is held in memory of Katie Shine who lost her battle w/ MPS in 2002 at age 13. She was from Downingtown, PA which is where the race took place.
I tried to extract some experience from my one previous 5k which was months ago. I controlled my pace from the start and ran my own race. I almost brought up my vanilla cappucino from Wawa about halfway through however. (Note to self: No flavored coffee before races from here on out).
The course was nice and flat which was part of the motivator to get me 
out this morning. I’m racing the next two Sundays and if nothing else, this was a training run. The competitor in me wanted improvement from my last race though, even though I was considerably less conditioned than before.
It started in town and was routed through Kardon Park and up the Struble Trail. At the halfway point on the trail the course was turned around for the runners and we finished where we started. There was also a one mile walk going on. There was a stretch where the runners and walkers were kind of lumped together even though the walkers started a half hour earlier. Even though I had a better idea what to expect for this race, it wasn’t any easier. I really tried to turn on the jets down the stretch but I was hurting. My calves were on fire and my stomach is still messed up. It’s all about conditioning. This is where eating better would really help me.
My official time was 26:55. 44th out of 86 runners. Middle of the pack. Not bad considering my recent slacking off. Actually I’m surprised that I did THAT well. I haven’t really run any considerable distance to speak of since early September. I want this to be a starting point for my resurgence. A 5K time of about 22 minutes is loosely where I would like to be by May.
So after I finished I had an apple, half a bagel and a bottle of water. It was about all my stomach could handle. I’m glad I made the decision to do this. Repetition will make it easier I’m sure. Fran wasn’t feeling well enough to run today but she’ll be back. I’ll let you know if it goes any easier next week.
– D.
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