A week ago I ran my first official race! Even though it’s been a week, I still feel like I’m on a little bit of a high about it. I ran a race, I controlled my breathing, my POTS didn’t get in the way, and I ran my fastest time yet. CLEARLY, I was really excited about it:)

Although I did a slow “shake out” run on Sunday, this week has been all about resting. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been struggling with some slight foot pain, so I’ve taken more rest days then work out days this week.

Today I decided to go out for a run. I had no plan, no goal times, and no set distance. The first 2 miles were slightly miserable. My legs felt tired and heavy, and I couldn’t get my breathing under control, which meant a lot of side cramping going on while running. Around mile 3 I started to feel much better, and finally got into a grove. At this point, I started to think about the distance i wanted to hit so I wouldn’t have to walk a mile back to the house. A few weeks back I ran 4 miles, which, up until today, has been the longest distance I’ve ever gone (and I stopped running immediately upon hitting 4.0 mi!). As I was running, I thought- why not try to hit mile 5…AND I DID IT.

Clearly I’m really happy about this!

Each time I increase my mileage I’m again amazed that I’m actually able to do it. Like I’ve said before, almost a decade ago I thought that I would never run again. My splits were SLOW today. Like I said, my legs felt heavy, and I just couldn’t move much faster then I did. For me, the time isn’t as important as just doing it. Like every time I’ve added mileage, I will get faster. Right now it’s the fact that I’m doing it that’s important.

I’m getting a little better at being more consistent with my mile times!

So, overall, while I was incredibly frustrated at first because I couldn’t get myself to move as fast as I normally do, I’m still incredibly proud of myself. I’ve worked my mileage up to 5, and I’m happy with that! And I’m very happy that I own compression socks.

Now it’s your turn: What’s been your biggest accomplishment this week?