Kirkwood 5k

Well I did it!  My second official 5k race.  And guess what?  I did SO much better than last year!!  Finish chip time was 33:54...that's 7 1/2 minutes better!  I am happy with my finish time and surprised.  I wasn't sure if I was ready for a 5k since I had only completed 4 weeks of the running school and haven't actually ran 3 miles yet.  But somehow I did it! 

I didn't want to stress about it or over think it.  Just treat it as another run like I run with my group.  At Thursday night's running school we had a speaker talk about nutrition.  She also gave pointers about what to eat before race day and on race day. Drink plenty of water all day, eat a simple dinner like pasta, a salad and some bread.  Don't try anything new and avoid alcohol.  On race day, make sure to eat a light breakfast and drink some water but don't over do it.  So I followed her advice.  I got my race outfit together and made sure to get to bed early. 

I woke up that morning pretty calm but totally changed my mind about my race outfit.  The day before I had bought a new shirt that actually fit (smaller size now yay!) and I had a cute running skirt that I hadn't worn yet.  But while getting ready I kept thinking "don't try anything new".  I know the speaker was talking about food but I started to worry about the running skirt since I hadn't ran in it yet.  And the shirt did fit, but I guess I'm still self conscious since I'm not at my goal weight yet.  So I decided to I wanted to be comfortable and choose a pair of capri's and another shirt...that was two sizes too big! 

I got to the race and registered then had about 45 minutes until the race started.  My husband and son came to cheer me on.  My friend Scott who ran in this race last year, was also running.  Unfortunately, Sarah, who ran with me last year (well she ran past me!) recently moved to CA. 

Race time!  Luckily, it was a nice morning and not too hot.  My first mile I completed in 10:15.  That was probably a little too fast for my pace, but you always run a little faster on race day (so I hear since I've only done two).  My second mile was probably my toughest which is strange since it's been my easiest during our training runs.  About a quarter mile into the second mile I saw my co-worker (and friend) and her daughter cheering me on.  That was so nice!  It's always great having support.  My husband and son kept popping up throughout the course to cheer me on as well.  They used short cuts in the neighborhood.  The second mile has one pretty steep hill - which I did walk up.  I knew I would; but again that's okay.  Halfway through the race I started thinking "I don't think I can do this".  I don't know why those negative thoughts started to creep in.  But I quickly dismissed them going back to thinking "Yes I can.  It's no different than running with your group.  Just a little further". 

The last mile was better.  Although I did find myself wanting to stop and walk for just 15 seconds to catch my breath a few times.  The sun had came out and it was starting to warm up.  The ending of the course was great.  One downhill and then flat until the finish line. When I got close I knew I just have to give it all I had.  And I think I did!  Of course looking back, I wondered if I really needed to stop and walk those few times or if I could have just pushed through it.  Well, I guess you always can look back on anything in life and question if you should have done it differently.

At the end of the day, I was very happy with my results...or success! And you know I'm already looking forward to the next 5k!

The training has begun

Well I'm behind a week in posting due to a mini-vacation to visit a friend in PA.  But after 3 weeks of training in the running school, things are going great!  I've been meeting some of the runner girls in my group on Tuesdays for a run outside of the full group run on Thursdays.  The girls in my group are great.  Some of them are training for a half-marathon!  That's not for me at this point but kudos to them! 

Our training plan is still a run/walk for 30 minutes.  It is mostly running though usually at 8 or 9 minutes with 2 minutes or 1 minute of walking.  The time will increase as the plan continues enough to get us close to 3.12 miles for the 5k race.  Currently my runs are averaging around 2.3 - 2.5 miles. I can tell my running has improved from my prior attempts and I know that is because of the weight loss and exercising.  Not that it's super easy, but definitely much better!  The first 1/2 mile is still the worst for me.  I usually think "why in the world am I doing this - it is just torture!"  But even that is getting easier now.  I am finding that in the last few minutes I start to get tried.  I'm sure as I continue with the training plan my distance will increase. 

Race on Saturday?  The Kirkwood 5k is this Saturday and I am planning on running!  Although, I didn't register for it so I will have to do that on race day.  I knew it was coming up but I think I wanted to make sure I felt like I could do it.  I would love to run the entire race, but it's okay if I have to walk a few minutes.  My goal is to finish under my time from last year.  I think I may just do that...

Here I go again...

Third time's the charm right?  I think, wait I know that it is going to be!  This running school is off to a MUCH better start than before.  I did my assessment run on a Thursday evening which was the hottest day of the summer so far!  Since it was so hot, we only had to run 1/2 mile.  I knew I could run 1/2 mile and it was so hot, I just wanted to get it over with as fast as I could.  So I ran the 1/2 mile in exactly 5 minutes! WHAT?!?  For me, that was a huge improvement!  I was proud that I had improved but also nervous.  I don't run a 10 minute mile.  I was worried that I had ran too fast and I would be placed in a group that ran a much faster pace. 

We met a week later for our first group run and I was still nervous.  But while talking to some of the women in my group, some of them felt the same way.  We set out to run on the same Country Park trail that I had tried to run 2 years ago with GRC.  Our training plan was to run 7 minutes and walk 3 minutes - 3 times.  We finished one loop around Country Park which is about 1.5 miles and still had a couple of minutes to spare.  Again, this time went MUCH better!  I was able to run/walk and stay on pace with my group.  I stayed some where in the middle which was fine with me.

I'm excited this running school is off to a good start and looking forward to running with my group!  Oh yeah, I am officially on the black visor team, woo hoo!!

I walk it out!

In May 2011, my friend Tricia and I walked the annual WW Walk-It 5k challenge.  Both of us are Weight Watchers and had intentions of actually running this 5k.  But neither of us were able to put in the training to be ready for the race.  It was a non-timed event around Hanes Park in Winston-Salem.  That place had many hills!  We did run a little bit.  The reason I wanted to do it was to show my support and appreciation for what the WW plan has done for me.  Plus I got a cool 5k charm to go on my 10% loss key ring!  Little tokens of motivation.  Although, it took me a few weeks later to finally get my key ring!