Had My First Race!

So I finally got to do it! I had my first 5k race! I'm a little surprised that offical times and pictures have not been posted yet. I was going to wait to write this until I had them, but at this point I know that I won't be back to the blog until Monday the earliest and my brain doesn't hold on to things for long anymore.

It was a gorgeous morning. It was in the 70s I think. My girlfriend texted me early that morning and surprised me by letting me know she wanted to attend my first race. This was great! It gave Greg someone to talk to while waiting for me and her kids are close in age to mine, so they got to play on the playground with friends :)

I was sad at the starting line. Desmond was so overwhelmed with the three playgrounds the school had that he would not walk over to the starting line with me and give me a kiss. Since he didn't want to go, Greg obviously had to stay with him and couldn't come over to get any prerace photos of me. Even though I was a bit sad, it was still exciting nonetheless.

Since it was at a school, there were HUNDREDS of kids running the actual 5k, which made for a crazy first mile. They would fly past you, stop suddenly and then once they regrouped with their friends they'd take off like a bat outta hell again. So all the stopping and swerving seemed a bit much, but the kids definately made you smile and brought a positive energy with them!

I don't know why, but I expected something flat; maybe because it was a family run, so to me that equates to easier. It's not that the hills were really steep, just that they were long. Sometimes I didn't really notice until it hit me how tired my legs were getting. I'd turn around and notice that I was slowly going up hill.

I also started out too fast for myself, but there was something to want to keep up with the initial rush of the crowd, though the crowd seemed to die off around a half mile. I kept pushing, my first mile was just over a 10 minute pace. After that my gps lost satellite :( Now I know just how dependent I am on that thing. I walked way more that I'd ever "allow" myself if it was on, because I know that I can push it through the mile, but now I had no idea when that mile was up. I took 4 walk breaks in the last two miles, when typically I'd allow myself two. It didn't seem to hurt me too bad. When I crossed the finish line the timer read 37 mintues and change. I'm pretty happy with that for a first official race, but really want to know what the change was! lol

I texted Greg when I was about .1 -.2 miles away from the finish line. He never got my text! :( So I crossed the finish line with no one to greet me or take my picture, but I'm over it now. It hurt like hell when crossing the line though. There's always next time (fingers crossed!).

So this is why I have no pictures and I'm impatiently waiting for them to be posted online. Since it was a fundraiser they had a raffle. We won one of the baskets! I got a call yesterday to come and pick it up. We put tickets in a couple baskets so I'm not sure which we one. I'm only working a half day today so I will be picking it up after work. Will definately update with what goodies we won. I plan on asking someone when everything will be posted when I stop in. Hopefully I will have pictures for my next update!

Found a Race!

So I finally found a good 5k to make my first race. It's a charitable run for a nearby elementary school. Since it's at a school it's geared towards families and kids. My kids won't need to be bored waiting for mommy to run the race. They'll have the school playground to keep them occupied. Afterwards there's a free buffet, dj, face painting, auction, and other activities for the kids. I'm super excited!

I did notice a downfall though. I was totally negative in my thinking this morning while running. That I am too slow, that I'm too accustomed to the treadmill and there's no way I'll make it outdoors. I started out stronger than usual this morning, which means I needed an extra walk break during the last mile. This was failure in my head. However, I'm pleased to say that it was my fastest run (that was longer than a mile) to date. Overall I had a 12:05 pace. So, I don't know if this negative mind monster is a good thing or bad thing. It challenges me, but I hope it doesn't get destructive.

I actually started getting comments about my weight loss. It only took 23 pounds to get there. I received nice words from my old boss yesterday (a feat in itself), and a super nice girl at the gym I've been chatty with was exclaiming how well I've been doing. It feels good to hear. I also think my husband is appreciating it, which is a big motivator, though I don't expect him to come out and actually say it.

I think the next time I go clothes shopping I may be trying on a size 16. That will be a nice feeling. Hopefully then I will only have about 20 or so more pounds before I hit the 12 I want. It will be nice to not have to shop at over-priced plus-size stores!