5K Fun

One of my 30 before 30 goals (which I promise to do an update on before my 30th... in a month!) was to run my first official 5K. Well, been there, done that... a few times actually. This past Sunday, Andy somehow convinced forced me to run a local 5K with him "just for fun". He took the liberty of signing me up, completely covering my entry fee, and driving us to and from (clearly he wanted a buddy!). So, being the ever so compromising wife (HA!) that I am, I agreed.

Now, just for the record, I do actually run frequently. I typically run anywhere between 3.8 and 5 miles, 3-4 days a week. You would think with my competitive spirit and actual tendency to run, I would be all about 5 K's. Not so much. I put way too much pressure on myself to have great runs when it is an organized event like a 5K- particularly when my friends are also running. My competitive spirit comes out and I literally get anxious about my performance- who I should be faster than, who should beat me, what my time should be, etc. It's ridiculous. So I typically avoid running these races and just stick with my personal, leisurely running routines. But Andy really seemed to need a running buddy, so to the 5K I went.

I was honestly shocked at what a great time I had. As with my previous 5K's, I expected to dread every second of my run, running curse words for Andy through my mind as I trotted along to the finish line. But I was very pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had (seriously, don't tell Andy- he'll make me do another one!) The weather wasn't too hot or too cold, the course was ideal- not too many hills, not too many straight-aways to get bored on, and my time was phenomenal for me. I got a personal record by almost 2 minutes, finishing the race in 25:43. I felt great when I finished- accomplished, productive, and not like I was about to drop dead.

After the race, we grabbed some free food (honestly, I might just do another 5K if I am rewarded with a Krispy Kreme glazed donut) and waited for the awards. My hubby is quite the runner and almost always places in his age group. So no surprise, Andy got 1st place in his age group. The most shocking thing was that I would have gotten 2nd place had I been in the 30-39 age group, but because my birthday isn't for another month, I got 7th in the 20-29 group. Still a very proud moment for me! All in all, it was a really nice Sunday morning with Andy... and it didn't totally suck to be done with my exercise for the day by 9:30am :)