I love when a race turns into a family event and last night was just that! My brother Chris, his wife Danielle, my little nephew Caleb, our friends Dave and Debbie, my parents and my husband and daughter Sophia all came to the 5K last night. Five of us were signed up to run the the HASLAW Manchester 5K (put on by one of my favorite race companies Millennium Running, they do a great job!): Chris, Danielle, Dave, Debbie and myself and everyone else was there to cheer us on.

When we arrived at Derryfield Park in Manchester, NH it was hot: 85 according to our car thermometer, thankfully it wasn't too humid. It was a race I had never run before but I knew enough about the course to know that the loop took us down a the same steep hill twice. Downhills, I have learned are NO friend of a pregnant-lady. I knew I'd be slower on the downhill than everyone else and I was OK with that. I just wanted to be strong on the hills, cause even pregnant, I consider hills to be my "bread and butter." I live in a really hilly area and all my runs start with a pretty steep hill climb. I've only begun to shy away from hills now, later in pregnancy, because it means I have to run back down them and that has proved to be quite uncomfortable.

We all planned to run our own races: Danielle was gunning for a 23:30 time as a good comeback time post baby. I was hoping to come in around 28 minutes, give or take depending on how I felt in the heat. But after Saturday's 5 Miler I knew I had 9:00-9:13 minute miles in me for a 5K.

Mile 1 (9:07): We started into the sun on the downhill. When the gun went off and we started to jog across the start line I realized I didn't put my Bella band on like I had for the 5 Miler. I immediately regretted it as we started down the hill, I could have used the extra support. Running down hill with a burgeoning belly is not the most comfortable thing, you feel off balance and tense. I tried to lessen the impact by tensing my ab muscles, with pulled my belly in a little. At about the quarter mile point we turned into a neighborhood and onto a nice flat stretch. Which felt better to me, but I had a side-stitch on my side due to tensing my muscles. The first mile was not the most comfortable.

Mile 2 (9:34): Most of mile two was in the shade of a the neighborhood and included a few hills, one small, steep burst up a hill and then one long hill climb that took us back up through Derryfield Park heading towards the start line. I was right about the hills too: I started to pass people with a comfortable effort. I have to say that passing people when you're 28 weeks pregnant is a confidence booster! At the top of the hill we rounded the corner towards the start line, hitting the two mile mark.

Mile 3 (9:10): Just as I passed the start line and headed into the final down hill mile a group of ladies on the sidewalk began cheering wildly for me, yelling "Go Mama!" It definitely put a little kick in my stride and I waved a thank you. It is so nice to be cheered for when you're running while pregnant, it counter balances all those appauled whispers I hear: "She's pregnant and running?!?" as if it is some scandalous thing. Shortly after I spotted my husband, daughter and parents. They too were cheering loudly and it was a great way to head into the final mile, which was downhill. I took it easy, but the going was rough. I started to get side stitches in my ab muscles again and slowed a bit, at this point I was really wishing that it was flat instead of downhill. The last mile is part of the Manchester Mile race, held shortly after the 5K, which meant that every quarter mile is marked. This was great, cause I knew exactly how much further I had to go. And once I got the the 3/4 mile marker I could see the finish line and the clock. By then we were on flat ground and I increased my pace comfortably, holding my place with the people around me. With about 50 yards to go I started to pass a girl next to me, but her friend yelled at her from behind and she began to sprint. I wanted to beat her so bad but at that point I had to ease up, and remember it's not a race and I'm not out there to prove anything. I ended up crossing the line in 27:52 for an 8:59 min/mile average. I'm really pleased with the results, better than I expected.

I grabbed a gatorade and then tried to see if I could watch Chris, Dave and Debbie cross the finish line. I knew Danielle had finished before me and she found me quickly right after Chris and Dave crossed. And we all got to see Debbie finish when the announcer called out her name as she came towards the finish chute. Danielle ended up running in 22:40 beating her goal time by almost a full minute and my brother ended up PRing.

We walked a mile back up the hill (phew!) to meet up with there rest of the family and then headed over to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for a post race celebration. It was the perfect ending to a great evening!

Did you run a race this week? How did it go?

--Sarah

HASLAW Manchester Mile and 5K

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