My First Race

Well, here I am again blogging after a long break. I am still alive. In fact to prove it, I'm posting tonight about my very first 5K race that I ran this morning with my mother-in-law. She flew into town earlier this week and arranged for us to run this 5K together in Newark, DE. She's run several races in the past 6 months but this was my first. I had no idea what to expect and came out of it totally pumped for my next race. About a month and a half ago I was in the middle of training for a half marathon. I had to stop for a bit because I was having some pain in my left hip and both my knees. So, it felt good to be running again and now I'm excited for that half marathon one of these days. The course was actually quite difficult. It was a trail run which entailed steep hills with exposed roots and rocks. All in all I was proud of my time of 40:48. On the treadmill I can run a 5K in about a minute less so I was very happy about it. I must explain that I have NEVER been a runner. I was a good power athlete in high school back when I was buff and skinny (remember, skinny is relative! I was still bigger than many of my friends), but I never ran more than a mile without dying. Get me out on the volleyball court and I could slam the ball down your throat, but I didn't stand a chance with endurance. I've been slowly working up my endurance for the past 6 months. I ran 5 miles straight for the first time of my life on December 12th. I stopped the half marathon training at 6.5 miles. So, I obviously have a long way to go. But I have totally become hooked on running for the mere fact that it was something I never thought I could do. My favorite part of the race was passing a bunch of skinny people! Moral of the story: If a 200 lb amazon women can run a 5K so can you! I wish I looked cuter in the picture, but I guess you're not supposed to look cute when you're hot and sweaty without makeup. Wait a minute, what about all those other girls at the gym that start and end all decked out? Hmm.... Oh well, I guess I'll just have to settle for being cute when I hold perfectly still. You either have it or ya don't! I wonder if I'll be sore tomorrow...