Tag Archives for Race
5k Recap
On the morning of my 5k I woke up around 6:15 to get ready. I was so nervous the night before that I laid out my shoes, headband, bib, chip and what I’d be wearing so I got ready pretty fast. I ate two slices of apple with a tablespoon of almond butter around 6:40 along with a glass of water. My sister came to pick us up and we arrived to the course around 7:10.
There were so many people and I was so nervous. There was a long line at the registration tent which made me really happy that Greg & I had picked up our bib and chip the day before. If it’s your first 5k I definitely suggest picking those up the day before as it really helped with my nerves knowing I had everything I needed already.
It was a cold morning so I warmed up a bit by walking up and down this huge hill a few times and then doing a little bit of stretching. The race was getting ready to start as it was ten til 8 so I said bye to Greg and headed towards the back of the starting line. Greg was up front because he’s much faster and was looking to hit under 22 minutes. My goal was just to not stop running and make it in under 35 minutes.
The anthem was sung and then I heard the shot and we were off! I was a little annoyed at the slow start because a bunch of people walking the course had moved towards the front and were slowing everyone down. I wasn’t really sure why they would do that, but what are ya gonna do? I crossed the start line and the crowd got less congested and I was finally able to pick it up and pass a few people.
I don’t know if it was my lack of training (as in no running whatsoever) or that I ate so close to race time, but I had an instant cramp in my right side and I started to panic a bit. I kept telling myself to breathe through it and I slowed my pace down to see if it would help. It started to lessen up so I decided not to focus on the cramp and instead just enjoy the beautiful morning. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and having so many people around was really motivating. I remember passing the mile one marker and I just felt so awesome. I was doing something that I’d never done before and I was making good time!
I could see the water station coming up and cold water sounded so good so I grabbed a cup and went for a drink. Yeah, not a good idea because I ended up choking on it! I knew better since I can barely walk up stairs without tripping so I should have known I couldn’t drink and run at the same time. Once I stopped coughing I was good again and decided not to hit up the water station on the way back.
I remember wondering where the two mile marker was. It felt as if I’d been running for so long, but I think it had to do with the hills that were slowing me down. When I saw the huge, bright orange number two in the distance I got really excited. I knew that I needed to keep a steady pace so that I could really pick it up at the end and that’s just what I did. As soon as I heard a lady say there was only a quarter mile left I took off. I started passing people and then I hit the last hill of the race and people started passing me up. haha.
I heard my name and looked up to see my family cheering me on. It was such a great feeling and I crossed the finish line at 34 minutes even. I had to stop to get the chip taken off my shoe and my legs felt so crazy that I didn’t think I’d be able to lift them to walk. It was such a weird feeling!
I went over to the side of the course to talk to Greg and my family. Greg came in at 22:02 and I was so proud of him! He trains really hard and is so motivated and dedicated to anything he puts his mind to. He’s just awesome! But even more awesome was the 92 year old man in a walker that crossed the finish line at 48 minutes. As soon as we all started cheering for him he started sprinting and it was such an incredible thing to see. I found it so inspirational that it was all I could talk about for a few days after. It’s amazing what you can do with the right attitude and staying active throughout your life. Just amazing.
It’s really addicting to run these things because you get so caught up in the excitement and good vibes from everyone else. I’m already looking forward to my next run in July where hopefully I will do just as good. That race is usually a humid 90° run so we’ll see how I do! My goal is to not pass out and maybe perfect my skill of drinking and running at the same time :]
Last Week and the Week Ahead
Last week (4/25 – 5/1) I worked out for 1:58 and burned 1,087 calories. Saturday was really exciting because I ran my first 5k!
Here are my results:
Time: 34:00
Chipstart: 33:35
Pace: 10:49
28/48 in my age group
I was really surprised that my pace was under 11 minutes. I’m such a slow jogger/runner and I really surprised myself! I was super happy with my time as I was aiming for under 35 minutes. I also did not quit running the entire time even though there were a few moments where I wanted to slow to a walk but I didn’t and kept going. I am so proud of myself! I’ll do a more in depth post on the 5k soon.
Here are a couple of goals I have for the upcoming week:
1. More yoga. I realized how badly I need to stretch after running this 5k so I want to incorporate more yoga into my workout routine.
2. Pack my lunch every day this week. I’ll share what I pack here even though I usually end up eating the same thing every day. Once I find something I like, I stick to it!
I think I will be able to stick to these goals. I need to find some different yoga workouts as I only have one dvd and it can be a bit boring doing the same workout day after day. If you know of any good ones please let me know!
What are some of your goals for this upcoming week?
Great Day For A 5k
A few weeks ago, Greg did a 5k early one Saturday morning. It was cold and dreary but there was no way I was going to miss out cheering him on! I was really excited for this race in particular because I saw how hard he was training to meet his goal of 23:30 and his dedication was really inspiring.
I’m so thankful to have such a supportive and motivated husband. He was the one that got me into working out and told me that I could do anything if I worked hard enough. Before we even started dating he asked if I’d like to go jogging with him one day. Sure I said.. I jog all the time (total lie) and I knew he had caught on when I had to stop for water breaks every five minutes. I was trying to impress him and I didn’t do a very good job but thankfully he didn’t care if I could run a mile without stopping.
It’s really important to have support and inspiration around you. You feed off all those good vibes and it makes you want to work harder and push more than you have before. I’m so glad he got me into exercising because it really changed my life and has made me a much happier person. He doesn’t read the blog much, but a big thank you goes out to Greg for starting all this!
Anyway, back to 5k day!
There weren’t many people there at all. I think the cold and rainy weather kept a lot of people from showing up, but all the hardcore runners were there. I love watching them warm up and prepare before the race!
My sister and mom showed up so Greg would have his own little cheering section. I was so happy to have them there so we could talk and laugh while waiting on people to start nearing the finish line.
It took about 16 minutes for the first person to cross the line (amazing!) and I kept waiting for Greg. I knew his goal time and was expecting him somewhere around there and I had my flip camera out and ready to capture him crossing the line. I had asked him to wear something bright so I’d know it was him from a distance and he decides on black shorts and t-shirt like every other person there so I kept thinking every guy was him.
I was expecting him around the 23:30 mark and was so surprised when I saw him heading towards me and crossed the finished line at 22:52! He was so excited and kept yelling “22! 22!” and high-fiving everyone haha!
Here we are after the race and after he’d calmed down a bit. This race made me so excited for my 5k at the end of the month. I may not be able to run the entire thing if my knee starts acting up, but I’ll definitely walk to finish it if I have to and I can’t wait!
After the results were posted I was going through them and saw that there was a seventy year old man that ran the 5k in 23:11.. how amazing is that?! I think that is such a huge inspiration. Whenever I’m not feeling like working out I just think of being older and still in shape and being able to get around on my own. You have to keep using your body and stay active or you’re gonna lose it which is a huge motivation for me. Which brings me to a question…
What do you find motivating when you just don’t want to work out?
