My First 5K

On Sunday I ran my first official 5K. I woke up feeling nervous and excited. I got up extra early so I could have a couple coffees and have time to drop Little Beast to my parents since it was a frigid 30 degrees out! The time on the race website said 8:45 for the 5K so I figured we should get there by 8:15. What I didn't realize was that the race actually started at 9:45! Hubby and I were standing in the cold for a long time! I am especially thankful for how supportive he was. Not only did he help me warm up (which I have to admit, I'm not very good at), but he also put the chip on my sneaker and put my bib on. I don't know what I would do without him. I was so nervous, I could barely do anything!

Smiling before the race

After a LONG time, the race was about to begin. I stood towards the back so I could work on my pace. I usually run with an arm band and my Nike app on but this time I decided to go "naked". I didn't want to distract others with the Nike app. I started off slow and picked up my pace around 1 mile. By 2 miles, I was tired but knew I would make it to the end. When I saw the 1/2 mile left sign, I picked up my pace again. I assumed I would finish in around 28 minutes but my final time was 30:44.

Smiling as I'm finishing

Woohoo! I ran my first 5K!

When I finished, hubby ran towards me screaming and lifted my arm up. I am very lucky to have such a supportive husband. The poor man had to stand outside in the cold for an hour and a half before the race and then a half hour while I ran the race and he was still smiling! Thank you Michael, you're the best husband ever!

As far as my feelings post race, I was happy I ran the entire time. I lost a lot of training time because I was sick the entire month of February. I only had the chance to run 4 times before the race and the farthest I ran was 2.34 miles. So yes, I was happy I ran the entire 3.1. However, I can't say I wasn't disappointed that I didn't come in under 30 minutes. When I was actively training, I ran 3.18 miles in 29:56 (or something close to that) and I guess part of me assumed I would do the same during the race. I do know that I took it easy and just had fun with it. Overall, I think I have a good baseline time and am looking forward to improving it on my next 5K. There will definitely be plenty more! Another factor that threw me off were the hills on the course. I don't usually train on hills, I run around my house and it's mostly flat.

My overall race stats:
 - 101 out of 190
 - 14 out of 31 for my age group (30-39)

Right now, my goals are to work on my speed and train on hills. I would love to run my next 5K in 28 minutes or under. Hubby has decided to do the next one with me and we are thinking about running the Hair of the Dog 5K at Silver Decoy Winery.

I'm happy I have one 5K under my belt and am looking forward to many more. This summer I will also run at least one 10K prior to my half marathon in August. That's a lot of goals for the year but I'm determined.

Until my next run,
Renita

The Real Challenge

I thought I had enough on my plate in terms of challenges. I have my first 5K in March and the 30 day Bikram challenge in February but yesterday, I learned the true meaning of the word challenge. You see, my son hasn't been sleeping very well lately. He was very congested Sunday night and was up most of the night. On Monday night, he was wide awake from 2-5 am. Tuesday mornings, I get up at 5:30 for a run and there was no way that was happening with 2 hours of sleep!

Apparently when we were up at 3 am, I asked my husband how I was supposed to go running at 5:30. I slept in (if you can really call it that considering I went to bed at 5 am) and woke up at 6:30 for work. I felt guilty all day about not going out on my run so I decided to go on one last night. The real challenge would be learning to run exhausted. I admire mothers with children younger than mine that still maintain their running. It is extremely difficult to get out there and run when you're not getting enough sleep.

Alas, I did get my run in last night and it was my farthest to date. 2.38 miles in 22 minutes. I switched the running app I was using from AllSport to Nike running and it made a difference. Nike counts down seconds to your run so you have time to put your phone in your arm band or pocket. I heard my pace and mileage at every mile which is extremely encouraging! I am definitely going to continue using the app. It also connects directly with Daily Mile so that helps keep track of all your runs.

I came home red-faced, sweaty and smiling! As soon as I came home, my little man crawled toward me with his mem-mem-memma and gave me kisses. There is NOTHING more encouraging than that!

There's a big part I'm leaving out however. On Monday, I was going through running blogs and I found one about a weekend of yoga and running - The SeaWheeze Half Marathon. I clicked the link and to my amazement, the course was absolutely beautiful! Vancouver is known for it's beauty and I have never been there. I went through all the pictures and couldn't help getting excited. I decided right then and there that this race would have to be on my bucket list. Combine that with my son not sleeping Monday night and in my waking moments, all I was thinking about was the Half Marathon. I mentioned this to my husband yesterday and he told me he's completely supportive and that he and my son would be waiting for me at the finish line. So yesterday, I registered. I will be running a Half Marathon a couple days after my 32nd birthday! I am very excited.

This is definitely the year of firsts - my first 5K and my first half marathon. Just signing up gave me motivation. Right now my focus is the 5K and with my run last night, I have no doubt I will make it. Then I'll need to work my butt off to train for the half marathon. I will continue to document my journey - from beginner runner to 5K to half marathon all in a year. It can be done and I will do it!

Totally off the subject, how many of you get red faced after a workout? Whenever I come home from running, my face is bright red. The same thing happens after a yoga class. Am I the only red faced runner out there?

Until my next challenge - yea right I have enough on my plate,
Renita

Red-faced after yesterday's run