A few weeks ago, 2 of my friends that I have known since childhood signed up for a running group. We run 3 days a week and the training culminates with the St. Patty's Day 5K Run. There is a prize for the best costume that day and we are planning on taking home the prize :)
The 3 of us, Jennifer, Sadie and I have signed up for several runs. Sadie and Jennifer have not only been friends of mine since we were kids, but they are also 2 of my honorary bridesmaids. The run we did today was Kaitlyn's senior project. It was a 5K run at Ballard Park. We are planning on completing the Amanda Price Memorial 5K run in New Albany March 10th, the St. Patty's Day 5K, March 17th, the Warrior Dash April 21st, and the Gumtree 10K May 12. We have a lot to train for :)
So this morning we laced up our running shoes to raise awareness for Domestic Violence, to help out a senior with her project, and to train for our upcoming events. It was rather cold this morning. As we proceeded to the starting line, we decided we would get towards the back of the crowd. After completing several other runs in the past we thought we were placing ourselves in a decent starting place. Well, needless to say, somehow we were stuck smack in the middle of the WALKERS!!! When the starting whistle blew we took off and almost ran over several people, as we worked and weaved our way through the crowd to an opening, a very sassy older lady yelled out at us that the runners should have been at the front of the line. Not sure why she was so vocal, seeing as though she was behind us when we started so we did not pass her, anyway we started at a good pace and we all three stayed together for a few minutes. Jennifer has a bum ankle so we were trying to be careful and get her through the race without injuring it anymore that it already is. So after a few minutes of jogging, Jenn and I slowed from jogging to walking. Sadie took off and rocked the 5K. We did well with running and walking and pacing ourselves. We set goals of where to run to, of course we walked up the hills and ran back down them. As we weaved through the trails and track at Ballard I saw the finish line and was pumped that we were going to make it in under 35 minutes (yes, this seemed strange at first considering we weren't pushing hard because of the ankle, but hey, it was possible.) So as we rounded the corner I told Jenn, we got this up the hill and we will run from here to the finish. Start at an even pace and the closer we get speed up and make this run yours, as I finished saying those words we sprinted to our goal line....
The closer we got I saw the couple in front of us go past the line and down a small hill and toward the main loop of the track. We began to wonder and as we got even closer I realized everyone was running back toward the way we had already been, what, WHAT was going on...and as we reached our goal I realized, it was a water station...so I grabbed a cup and swished my mouth out twice and off we went to finish our run. We ran and walked and walked and ran. And when we were in view of the finish line (the real one, the one with the race clock, with big bold red numbers) I reminded Jennifer of how we were going to finish strong on our first race of 2012. We start running in and I spot Sadie coming back to run us in! Sadie finished in 34 minutes and some odd seconds. I ran on ahead and cross the line in 41 minutes, Jennifer and Sadie were close behind and Jennifer finished in 41 minutes and some odd seconds. We did it! We completed our first run of 2012! We made it ours. I am very proud of us, all of us, every single person that got out of the bed this morning and completed this run in the COLD.
So to celebrate and recover we decided to treat ourselves to The Stables, a local watering hole in Tupelo that has wonderful food. Our post race recovery was a cold beer and an order of cheese fries! Perfect treat for a run completed.
Side note: I have ordered a Garmin running watch, that we will use for the upcoming races, to improve upon our time and work up from where we finished today. We will be able to set it for intervals and the watch will tell us when to run and when to walk, instead of us having to try and keep up with it and make ourselves accountable. We now have a starting point, so will work from 41 minutes. I am setting a goal for us to finish the next race with hopefully at least 5 minutes shaved off of our time.
So Jennifer, that means we will be right on Sadie's heels (if she doesn't try to shave 5 minutes off her time, which is possible.) She is a machine.
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