My First 5K!

I'm so excited! Today I participated in Katie's "Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K." Her blog is the first weight loss blog I started following some time early last year, and she is the person that inspired ME to start running. I don't know why I waited a year to start, but better late than never. Anyway, it was quite a process to get the race accomplished, and here is why...

My mom had the day off from work, so I asked her if she wanted to run with me. She did, so we headed out to a national refuge close to our hometown that has trails for people to hike on. First thing we had to deal with was a dense fog advisory in effect this morning for our area. Second thing was the temperature outside. It was FREEZING! And yes, I'm from Texas, so 39° is too cold for me. I had on capris, a t-shirt, and a jacket, and I thought that would be enough because I didn't want to get too warm if I had bundled up. WRONG! Third thing was once I got out there my app wouldn't work that would have calculated my mileage and time. I was so disappointed and mad.

I tried to run anyway, but I had a much more difficult time trying to run out there than I do on the treadmill. Three things that didn't help: gravel surface, cold wind, and no music or TV. I realize though that I should probably start practicing on the track at the football stadium in addition to the treadmill. I just have to overcome my fear of people seeing me run.

We drove back home, and I immediately got on the treadmill to start attempt #2. I knew if I didn't do it right when we got home, I wasn't going to do it.

When I run on the treadmill, I watch Being Human on Netflix. I LOVE the UK version!

 I've been using the Runs for Cookies 5K Plan for People Who Hate to Run, which you can find here. I haven't worked up to running the full 5K yet, so I kept going with the plan, which meant I would be running 20 minutes today. I've been running 5mph, so that is what I set the treadmill to. When I reached 20 minutes, I was at 2.32 miles, so I walked a 4mph pace until I reached the 3.1 mile goal. I completed the race in 00:41:15. I was so happy and proud that I did it!

I definitely want to improve my time the longer I run. I had an idea today after my run to have 5K Friday. Until I reach my goal of running the ENTIRE 5K, I'm gonna keep on pushing through the plan, but every Friday, I'm going to run/walk a 5K to try to improve my time with every run.

That about wraps up my first 5K, so I'll leave you with these words of wisdom from Elle Woods. ;-)