Cast to 5K: Complete

"When the legs go fast, the heart goes free" -Lauren Fleshman

There is something to be said for rest. Despite having been on my feet and back running seriously for 4 weeks, when it came time for my first race back (!) after breaking my leg in December, I was hoping that rest was on my side, and that the time off my feet would actually help me in my glorious return to competition.

There is also something to be said for adrenaline. I really wasn't sure what to expect for this race. I had run a handful of fast miles but hadn't done any real speed work yet and had run no more than 7 miles at a time. Certainly I had a base, but what was I to expect in a race where 3 months prior I was in a walking boot? The excitement of the race propelled me forward, along with the sloping downhill of the first mile, and my competitive spirit came back.

Before the race started, I warmed up for 15 minutes nice and slowly. I had my racing flats on and some new Oiselle duds (the Winona Tank is the softest article clothing I own, and Oiselle's signature Roga Shorts are tight and flattering without the bunching up of spandex and are the absolutely best pair of shorts I have ever owned), so I was ready to focus on the race. I drank a lot of water and did a few dynamic stretches, because let's not get too ahead of ourselves with pre-race prep. Joining me were the boyfriend and my best friend and running buddy from work, who ran almost the whole race with me.

We don't look pretty, but we look like we worked hard!

My goal was to run sub-24, but I didn't have a true sense of how my fitness and speed would play out in the race. We started in the middle of the pack and went out comfortably. I was surprised when I looked at my watch that we were chatting easily at 7:45 pace. We somehow managed to keep that up and went through the first mile in 7:44. We soon stopped talking and started passing people. The race, Jog with Judy, was a relatively flat out-and-back, so we looped around the farthest point and picked up the pace a little more. I saw a lot of women ahead of me but we kept it up and were able to pass many of them. The second mile ticked off in 7:42 and we had negative split! Unfortunately the last mile was the most uphill and this was where it started to feel hard. I dug deep and was surprised to find that I actually had another gear. Maybe it was that my legs were actually well rested, or maybe it was the adrenaline, but I was determined not to slow down. It hurt and I liked it. It felt good to run fast again, and especially to do so while passing lots of people. With less than half a mile left, I yelled to my friend to come with me as I surged, but she didn't have it in her and so I went. I battled with one last woman as we rose and approached the finish line and she ultimately won but I was okay with that because I was spent.

I crossed the line in 23:48, beating my goal of sub-24 and I negative split the whole way and came from behind, which in my opinion is always the best and smartest way to race. And running with a friend and partner for the majority of the race gave me so much strength to keep working hard. I finished 4th in my age group, but the 3rd woman was over a minute faster than I was so I don't feel so bad about that.

I'm charged up about being truly back, about averaging 7:39 pace (that's my half marathon pace already), about long runs and track workouts and no more PT. And I'm psyched to race more and get my speed back, so I have two potential races lined up to keep me honest. First is a Girls on the Run 10k in Providence which supports a great organization, on June 1st, and soon thereafter is the Hollis Fast 5k in New Hampshire on June 12th, which claims to be the fastest 5k in New England. I'll take it! I have a lot of work to do to get to anywhere near my speed from college but after so long I'm definitely ready to take on the challenge.

Follow me and Robyn as we chase down some new PRs this spring and summer!

Celebrating our comebacks post-race