First 5K!

It all started with a simple FB message from my cousin Pam inviting me and our cousin Krystal to run a 5K with her. This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time so once I knew I wouldn't have to make an appearance at work I signed up. At first I didn't really think about it. After all I had been doing a 5 or 6 mile once a week. Then I started to feel really crappy again. Pretty much the whole month of May was a wash. I worked ridiculously long hours and ran very little.

May was also the month that I decided to try medication for the mild form of Lupus that I have. My doctor informed me that it has a very successful record, few side effects, but it can take 4-6 weeks to start working. At this point I was just so sick and tired of being sick and tired I was ready to try something.

The week before the race I was still feeling like garbage. At this point I resigned myself to the fact that it would take me about 36-40 minutes to finish the run depending on what happened with my legs. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not so good. I even thought about dropping out of the whole thing so I would not embarrass myself!

Luckily, I hadn't signed up by myself and backing out wasn't an option! All of the sudden 2 days before the run I started to feel better, much better. I even had a root canal which caused my mouth to hurt but overall I was feeling good. I was starting to get excited for my first run!

Saturday began warm, with a cool breeze, and slightly overcast skies. Great shuffling weather! I got up, walked the dog, and we hit the road. Of course I made James come to be my official photographer. I had no idea how many people were going to be there or how long it would take me to get my number. As a result we arrived on scene about 40 minutes before the start. I now know that this is way to early for me. The people there with me were stretching, running around, and doing all kinds of serious runner things. All of the sudden I felt out of place because I didn't have a cool warm-up routine! I picked up my goody bag and proceeded to exit the pavilion when I saw a big map on hot pink poster board. omg was I supposed to memorize this?! Was the course that hard that it needed a map? no, I can just follow other people. but what if i'm dead last and there are no other people? Those were the crazy thoughts running through my brain. Soon enough I wised up and decided that I didn't need to figure out how to read or memorize the map. We took some pictures and then it was about time to line up!

I met up with Pam right before the start.

We decided to start together because the beginning is fun and then we would part ways if I had to walk or was really slow haha

I was so excited when the race went off! We actually ran at the same pace which was great. Pam said that many people start off way to fast and we would get to pass them at the end. I sure hoped so! The first mile flew by, I felt fantastic. I told myself to just keep going and then the second mile was behind us. Only 1 mile left!

This was the fun part. The last mile started about where the finish was and looped around. I knew this from all of my time reading the map. I was almost done and started to get really excited. There was a guy playing a trumpet and lots of people cheering. We saw Pam's friends going into the final few yards a good 10 minutes ahead of us! They were serious runners. We started laughing because the mom's with strollers who started a full 5 minutes after us were not far behind! Then we noticed women running while carrying kettle bells, also not far behind!
Towards the end Pam ran ahead to try and beat her time from last year. I saw James on the side lines taking pictures and cheering. I was tired but decided to push myself in the home stretch. Pam was right, I started passing tons of people! this was great!

I did it! I was beaming as ran across the finish line!

My official time was 33:39. Which was great for me! Since I started running again the best I had done was 36. I finished in the 800's out of 1300.

I have to give a BIG thank you to Pam! I would not have signed up for a 5K if it wasn't for her. Plus, I know that the reason I did so well was because we ran together. Thanks Pam!!!!