I received doctor’s clearance to begin racing again back in late May and happy to say that race #5 is now in the books.  Wow, what a year makes.  I was sitting on the couch in a lot of pain wondering if I would ever race again at this time last year.  I had people in my ear telling me that my running days were never going to be the same again.  I participated in the Race4Freedom 5k yesterday which coincidentally was my final 5k before being struck by that drunk driver last January.  Not only was it my last 5k, but it was also where I set my 5k personal record of 21 minutes, 9 seconds.  

I was expecting to finish somewhere between 22 and 24 minutes this time around.  My body felt really good as the race progressed and my pace was moving along quicker than expected.  I hammered out some DDP Yoga before the race which may have provided help in loosening all my joints.  (Side note–I might have to make this a pre-race routine every time.)  Mile 3 was difficult to get through due to high humidity.  My heart rate was all the way up to 178 when I finished the race in 21 minutes, 34 seconds, which was absolutely shocking to me.  This was the second fastest 5k that I’ve ever ran.  I finished the race with minimal soreness and low pain while running which was most important to me.  I know that all of the core and rehab work that I’ve done has enhanced my DDP Yoga abilities and I think I am starting to see the same benefits with my running.  My glutes and quads are at my lifetime best.  I can think of better ways than getting in a car wreck to get motivated to strengthen these muscles, but I will take this as a nice bi-product.  I completed another 35 minutes of DDP Yoga after the race which help with my recovery.  I feel great today, one day later.

I enjoyed my finish time for about 15 minutes before planning out how I could shave 25 seconds off my time.  My biggest competition is the best version of me and I truly believe I can break my personal record that was set before the accident.  I am close enough.  I am going to keep up with my current fitness routine while adding pre-more pre-race preparation for a 5k on September 28.  This will be the race where I set a new personal record.  Let’s do this!

Work hard play hard,

Beast Getting Faster