My First 5K

Today I ran my first 5k!  WhooHoo!!  After 3 long, hard months of running in mostly hot, humid weather here in good ol Louisiana I entered my first race where I actually ran.  How appropriate is it that my first race was the No Excuses 5k & 10k race?  I made no excuses to myself during my training period and kept it up with pure self motivation. 

After putting myself to bed at a decent hour on a Friday night I woke up at 5:45 a.m. to begin my morning.  Actually, I do kinda remember waking up at 4:45 a.m. and looking at my alarm.  I managed to go back to sleep for another hour.  It was a fairly relaxing morning as I got ready.  No need to worry about getting kids up, fixing breakfast, or yelling at anyone to come on or I'm leaving without them.  I left at 7 A.M., stopped to get gas, and even arrived 30 minutes early.  Amazing!

Since I arrived early I had enough time to scope out my running path and watch the other runners getting ready.  At 8:00 there was a 1/2 mile fun run.  I decided not to do this because I didn't want to risk getting tired before I even started.  Instead, I warmed up by walking around and doing some stretches.  As I walked around I met some other runners.  Runners are such friendly people.  At 8:30 the race began.  I began in the middle of the pack and was quickly passed by other runners.  You would not believe the serious runners here.  I nicknamed one particular runner Speedy Gonzales.  He was running the 10K and I think he must have passed me several times.  Nevertheless, this did not discourage me.  My goal was to get to the finish line without walking. 

As I rounded the corner of the 3 mile marker and passed through a tunnel, I felt a feeling of pride as I saw the finish line and realized I did it.  I crossed the finish line in 37 minutes, 39 seconds.  My husband even surprised me and was waiting on the other side videoing my accomplishment. 

What an awesome feeling to find a new interest that I enjoy so much with an added bonus of getting me in shape.