Was my 5k awesome? Well, it Depends.

Today I ran my first race in what feels like a decade, but was actually just a little over a year. (The last time I was doing the bib-and-safety-pin dance was in January 2010, just a month before I'd have bibs and safety pins of a totally different variety back on my radar again.)

Some awesome things happened today:

-My pace quickened. I tried hard but not to the point of hyperventilating or puking, and I clocked in at 26:22 net time, a minute and a half quicker than my last (pre-baby) 5k time.

-My mood calmed. I remember feeling frenetic and aggressive, even mean, in previous races. "Get outta my way, hairy backed jerk!" was a typical thought to pass through my brain as I clawed my way ahead. Today felt like my usual 3ish mile morning run--but with a lot of people sharing the road with me.

And something not so awesome happened:

-My pelvic floor revolted. "Three pregnancies without leaking and now you want me to stand firm while you run hard, too? Sorry, lady!" I actually muttered, "Stop it!" to my bladder at one point like it was being an annoying kid sister. Ultimately I ended up running with my knees pressed together to prevent the unthinkable from happening.
 
I am waiting anxiously for race pictures; hopefully no one caught the mermaid-legged running stance on film. Next time, I think I'm going to make Depends part of my raceday gear. Although if it ended up scoring me my best time ever, maybe running like you really need to get to a bathroom is my calling card to even faster times in the future.

Afraid to ask: Might I need larger shoes?

I thought I managed to survive three pregnancies without growing a shoe size, but it probably is NOT a good sign if your fresh pedicure chips as soon as you run, right? At first I blamed the cheap nail salon where I was getting my toes done ("It had to be fake OPI! Chipping just one day post-pedi??") but then I went to a more expensive place, and I still had the chipping right after I ran.

So either OPI nail polish isn't as long-lasting as it used to be...or my toes don't have enough room in a size 8.5.

(Please, please tell me OPI sucks! I don't want to be a 9!)

I'm also afraid my favorite running shoe, the Nike Lunar Glide (now available as the Lunar Glide 2) is no longer the perfect match for my bigger and probably flatter post-baby feet.


But with all that I went through before I found the Lunars, I'm not sure I'm up for another session of match-making.