Running Reflection: April 7th - 13th, Seahawks 12k Recap, AND Giveaway Winner Redrawn!

This last week has been my school district's Spring Break (thank goodness!), and it turned out to be a bit of a crazy one for several reasons:

1. After six years, I finally buckled down and scheduled an appointment with a new cardiologist. Why?

• I was born (like many babies) with a ventricular septal defect (ie: a hole between my ventricles). Ain't no thang, and the biggest way it has changed my life thus far is I've gotten real up close and personal with cardiologists and I have to take antibiotics more often than most people to prevent infections moving to my heart.
• The real impetus behind this appointment (which I'm supposed to schedule every three years) was because every few months (with increasing frequency) my heart has been going into tachycardia (rapid heart rate) at the beginning of a workout/run/etc. Upwards of 210 bpm, not even CLOSE to where it should be based on my perceived effort. It gets up high, stays there for a few minutes (while I just sit down and try to catch my breath), and then suddenly it's back to normal. Super weird.

Anyway, I spent the first few days of my break getting to know my new cardiologist (super great guy), getting an EKG done and then having someone ultrasound my heart (echocardiogram).

All should be fine and dandy, but I don't get to hear the results until Wednesday. I'm hoping my cardiologist prescribes that fancy new Garmin heart rate monitor. :) Think my insurance will go for that?

2. In other news, I ran my second race of the year, the Seahawks 12k in Renton, WA. Before I go into that, though, let me tell you all about how I tweaked my lumbar spine picking up my laundry at 6:15 this morning. I actually spent a few moments (okay, hours) wondering if I'd be able to run the race, and was stressing. Once I picked up my race packet, I spotted a few chiropractors setting up their tents and asked for help and advice. 

They gave me a few stretches to try out, and then my race buddy showed up... and he just so happens to be a physical therapist (lucky me!).

A few more stretches, a chair massage at The Balanced Athlete, and I eventually felt like I'd be able to push through those 7+ miles of Seahawks spirit.

Today was absolutely beautiful, with perfectly sunny weather. The race organizers told us 10,000 people were registered (there was a 5k option, too), and you could TELL. Hello, congestion. 

They released us in four waves, and Trevor and I were weaving through people for the entire race. We probably should've started in an earlier wave, but with my back being all funky I had no idea how fast I'd be able to push it!

The unofficial results are in, and Trevor and I rocked out those 12k in 1:10:20, at a 9:12 pace. This was the first longer-than-a-5k race I'd run since July, and I'm so glad I signed up. It was a blast!

3. I've gotten a few emails about the Spartan Race giveaway, and it's been a week since the winner was announced. Since I haven't heard from her, I've redrawn our race winner - the races are filling up! 

Congratulations to SANNY KIM! Please contact me (runlikeabird@gmail.com) by April 20th (12pm PST) to claim your prize.

Here's how my week of training went:

• Monday: Weight circuit and 50 minutes on the elliptical.
• Tuesday: 5.3 miles / 8:50 pace. Rocked negative splits using the RockMyRun App! Look for an app review next week once I have some more opportunities to use it.
• Wednesday: Double Workout!
• 50 minutes on the elliptical.
• 5.5 miles / 8:36 pace. Kept up with the big kids during Wednesday's group run out of Everyday Athlete in Juanita. A Brooks rep came and let us all try out their shoes for the run, which was EXCELLENT.
• Thursday: Took the pup I was housesitting out on a 3 mile walk. No intense workout after Wednesday's two-a-day.
• Friday: 8.89 mile hike to Dirty Harry's Balcony with my buddy Keri. It was BEAUTIFUL.

• Saturday: 50 minutes on the elliptical.
• Sunday: Seahawks 12k! According to Nike+, 7.7 miles / 9:10 pace.

Total Distance: 18.58 miles
Average Pace: 8:54 per mile


Last Week's Goals:

1. Run three times. (Met it!)
2. Run 20 miles (didn't meet this one) and rock the Seahawks 12k on Sunday (met it!)!
3. At least one weight circuit. For real this time. (BOOM!)

Goals for Next Week:

1. Run three times.
2. Come up with a plan with my cardiologist to figure out what's up with my heart rate.
3. 14 miles on my long run.

Who raced this weekend? Tell me about it!