Rachel's Marathon Blog

Tackling the first marathon...

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Run for the trees


tree on house
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.
I ran a 5K race this past weekend with a really cool theme-- adding more trees to the environment, which is especially welcome this year since we lost so many with the three hurricanes that hit us last fall (witness the giant laurel oak that fell on top of our house). Every participant in this race gets a tree-- I convinced my friend Amy to run and she gave me hers, so I wound up with a baby cypress tree and a baby live oak, both of which I planted in my yard, where a gaping hole remains from the aforementioned laurel oak.

I hadn't run a 5K since last summer, and my time ended up being 25:42. I never got the chance to do any speedwork due to my nagging IT band issues, but I wasn't upset about it. The race was still fun. I saw one of my Team In Training buddies, an extremely fast man in the 50-54 age group who ran his race in just under 20 minutes and just took up running in the last year. (Don't you hate people like that?!)

The humidity was already pretty intense at 7:30 in the morning. I ran my first mile too fast-- 7:56. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace, especially without really training. The second mile I was having some breathing cramps, which scared me for a few minutes, but I slowed down and they went away. The last mile went through some nature preserve that is only open one day of the year for this race. I was excited for the race to be finished so I could head back to the starting point to collect my trees.

Having run several different types of races now, I have concluded that I really prefer the medium distances. 10K's and half marathons are great because you have to learn to pace yourself, and they go on for long enough that you get to appreciate the scenery. I have a harder time appreciating the scenery with 5K's, when I feel like I'm sprinting and I don't really get into any sort of rhythm. I suppose I could train for one and try to master it-- and maybe some new goal setting is overdue since I've decided I don't want to run another marathon anytime soon-- but in terms of form I really just like the longer races.

I tried to take photos of my baby trees, but they're so small they blend in with all the other greenery. Great mementos, though, and the coolest race souvenirs I have received so far.

5 Comments:

At 12:01 AM, Blogger brent said...

thanks...yeah i think i'm hooked :)

i like reading your run for trees report. what a cool finishing gift. did that big tree seriously fall on your house?? how'd that happen...it looks HUGE. bummer.

 
At 9:08 AM, Blogger Jon (was) in Michigan said...

Trees! That's better than a race shirt by a long shot. Must have been a fun race, and I'd be totally thinking about getting my trees during the race too.

I think Live Oak is the middle layer in the trilayered hull of the USS Constitution (the wooden one in Boston). Very dense tough wood. Should make a sturdy tree years from now.

 
At 8:39 PM, Blogger David said...

Hey Rachel - did you see or hear any of the peacocks that live in the preserve?
That's a fine 5K time for a warm humid morning with no speed work training.

 
At 11:11 PM, Blogger April Anne said...

Your right--that is the coolest race souvenir! Congratulations on a great race.

 
At 4:34 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Hey, I am from frankfurt, Germany, and i am going to run my first Marathon in april 2012. Running is the best Fitness training ever.Nice Blog

 

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