FINISHER!

I am so stinking proud of myself! I walked/jogged my first 5K on Saturday!! I have a funny story I have to tell about it. Well, last week I practiced the route, and I finished it in 36 minutes, so that was my hope for the actual race.

WELL...as we were jogging along, I noticed the people in front of us turning left, rather than going on straight! LOL!! IMAGINE my reaction!?!?! So, first I was a little tripped out because I had mentally prepared for a certain route. Then I just re-focused and kept going!! It included a hill, too!!

This little section I missed ended up being a quarter of a mile! Or, half a mile for the race, since you run it one direction, and then run it again on the way back! And, it was a bit of a hill, too!!

I did decide to figure out the timing of the actual race AND my practice!! I ended up finishing the actual 5K in 38 minutes (not sure on the seconds). My practice race was 36 minutes for 2.6 miles = 13.846/mile or 6.9/half mile, which means had I ran the entire thing last Sunday my time would have been 42+ minutes for the total run. So, my Saturday actual race time at 38+ minutes means I am down 4 minutes from my practice!!! I was hoping for under 40, which I did get. It ended up that I walked/jogged 12.30 a mile! Not too shabby!!!

Boy, it made such a difference to have a jogging partner! I would tell her where I could start jogging, and once we started, where I thought I could make it before I needed to walk, and she would totally encourage me, and I felt like I had to do it!! I was teasing her and telling her that I wanted to take her to Vegas with me for the half-marathon. But, seriously, I am going to work on my son to have him do it with me, and maybe my sister! I need that support :)

Now, I am so excited about the 5K, that I decided I wanted to do another one. There are quite a few next year, but not too many happening in the next month, and then we are into full winter. I wish there was an indoor 5K this winter, and I totally wish there was a 5K on Thanksgiving or the Friday after here in town somewhere. Ya know, a turkey trot of some sort!! Maybe even the morning of Turkey Day...I guess I will just have to do it on my own :)

I think I have talked my son and his wife to do the 11K run on 11-11-11 in Vegas!! I wish we had one of these races close here, but we don't :( The nearest one is in Seattle!

I did find that November 6th is World Run Day!! I AM VERY interested in this!!! I like that I can run a 5K, and raise money for a charity I care about, maybe even something local. You get a bib!! And, I can buy a shirt even :) I was thinking it would be cool to run a 5K once a month!! So, the plan is running again (probably just by myself) on November 6th, then another one on Thanksgiving (again, probably just on my own), and then off to the half-marathon in Vegas the first week of December. Then I could do a run inside in January...

I think I have the running bug :)