The 5k post...finally

Okay, so maybe it's a week late, but here is my post about my first 5K! First, the stats.
Time: 39:35
Pace: 12:45
Age place: 80/93
Overall place: 876/1106

Maybe to some this is not all that impressive, but I'm very proud of it. My two goals were to run the whole thing and to do it in under 40 minutes, both of which I achieved. Therefore, I consider it a success.

Another plus is that I no longer completely loathe running. YAY! That's what I was waiting to happen the entire time I trained, and it finally did. I've actually kept up with my running since the race as well, and I'm hoping to do a couple more races in the near future. I don't know that I will ever get into running quite to the extent as some of my other friends (Queenie :D ), but I'm enjoying the health benefits of it and I think the 5k distance is a good fit for now.

The best part of this 5k though, was running it with 8 friends and my sister (not that I actually ran it with them...they are all faster than me). It was great to share the experience with them and definitely made the experience more enjoyable. Here is a group shot of all of us after the race!

This was followed by breakfast and beer! haha. Gotta love the Green Lights festivities. :)

(In case you were wondering, I'm front and center, sporting the green headband.)

Simply "Da Best"...

I have the best sister in the world. She always seems to know how to keep me in check and positive about life and the things I do. Today was no exception.

The infamous 5K race was today (more details to follow in a later post), and while I did indeed finish, I did not do quite as well as I had hoped. It is definitely a flaw of mine to be hard on myself, and knowing this, my sister picked up on the fact that I seemed to be a bit down in spite of having achieved what I had set out to do. She asked why I was feeling down, and when I told her it was because I felt like all of my training didn't quite get me to where I had hoped to be, she replied with this, "As an athlete, when you played soccer, your game was the quick, short, sprint-type running; endurance is not your game or strong point. Yet, knowing that, you still set out to run the 5K and overcome it, and you did. What you did is a huge accomplishment, and you have every reason to be just as proud as anyone who finished that race."

That one little speech has truly made all the difference. She has made realize what I struggled to see all along, that I did something I never thought I could have done. Two months ago, running a full 5K seemed like a nice goal, but not a reality, and today I changed that. I am so proud of this accomplishment, and I have my sister to thank for helping me to fully recognize that. I feel blessed to have her as my sister and will always love her for the person that she is and who she helps me to be. She is simply "da best."

5k progress...

St. Patty's 5k run is just 8 days away! I cannot believe how quickly it is approaching. I think I will actually be ready for it though. This training process has not been without its up and downs, but as we enter the final stretch, other than some ankle/feet issues (likely caused by my poor running form) I feel confident that I will indeed achieve my goal of finishing the race. I realize to runners, 5k isn't something overly impressive, but being the non-runner that I am (or perhaps was, as I'm actually starting to enjoy it on some level...finally) 3.1 miles will be quite the achievement for me.

On Sunday Lily and I ran for 30 minutes, and by the MapMyRun calculations we covered just under 2.75 miles. On Tuesday we did a 20 minute run, with her iPod keeping track of distance and pace. Lily, having much better form, ran faster than me, and covered a bit more distance, but based off her stats, we figured I ran in between a 10-11 pace and hit just under the 2 mile mark. (She did a little better with a solid 10 pace and 2.01 miles covered...Go Lily!) I'm really excited at our progress and I think we are both finding our stride and what works for us. It's been quite a process, but I'm proud of us for sticking with it. I think running the race will be fun, but I feel like we've accomplished something so much more important at this point. We are building in a routine for this and adding a healthy activity to our weekly regimens. I really hope we keep up with this after the race is finished.