from er to pr

ok so... don't be mad at me, but i ran a race saturday (i was already registered for it).

my racing heart episodes were less-frequent tuesday (post-er) and wednesday. i didn't have any episodes thursday, so i tested the waters with an easy 30-min run friday morning. i ran with josh and took my cell phone just in case. it was slow, but otherwise uneventful. i've gone coffee-free all week and started a magnesium supplement. i'm hoping that fixing my magnesium level is all i need, but i suppose i'll find out more with the cardiologist.

i decided to go ahead and run the race because i had no episodes on thursday or friday, and i had felt fine during last sunday's mile repeat workout. i was also telling myself that the doc ruled out the "bad stuff" and told me i could continue my "normal activity". i need to find my confidence so i can run without fear again. i needed to "get back on the horse".

my alarm went off at 4:30am saturday morning and i was wishing i hadn't registered for this race; soo early. the race was at 6:30 with packet pick up starting at 5:30, and it was a 20-30 minute drive away. i peeled out of bed, poured some cereal in a bag, and we hit the road.

i was debating between running easy and going for it. you know me, i'm hard-headed/stubborn/competitive with myself so i decided to go for it. i checked my pace in the first quarter-mile and eased up slightly, letting other females go, knowing i needed to run smart. my patience paid off soon when i passed a lot of those women within the next mile. i settled in with a woman in a pink and black skirt who was holding a similar pace for about two miles until she abruptly stopped right in front of me at the water station. just stopped! i scooted around her, took a few sips of water, dumped the rest on my head and continued on.

the wheels started to fall off in mile 4 and my mental game wasn't strong enough to fight back. i passed a chick who can run in a sports bra and not scare people (jealous) and gave a half-hearted thumbs up. it's what i try to do in races since some people run with headphones but now i am thinking maybe they can't even tell i am giving a thumbs up and my hands just look floppy. my sports-bra-runner envy turned out to be jen of fit360! we have similar pr's and have joked about battling it out in some local races, and now we actually were. she recognized me, but my brain wasn't functioning at the time. luckily we met up at the finish and went for a little cool down chat. i know! me, doing a cool down! i'm trying to be heart-smart and ease the hr down gradually, i figure it won't hurt.

looking like rainbow bright in all my non-matchy-ness

we both took 1st in our respective age groups
pic kindly borrowed from fit360

saturday (6/11) race: 8k / 35:33 (avg pace 7:07) / 68º
9th overall female/1st age group
shaved 18 seconds off my previous pr

♥heart update♥
felt normal thursday, friday, saturday. "pressure" feeling in chest during slow run sunday. episode sunday night :(