My "First" 5K!!!

Earlier this summer I blogged about Spark People (or SP). Spark People is an incredible, free, online group that helps people lose weight and live a healthier life. You learn to set goals and achieve them! In fact, I have been working towards weight loss, and have lost 13 pounds since starting on June 1st! 

 

Another goal was to learn to run AND to be able to run an entire 5K... 3.1 miles. I started a program (through SP) called Couch to 5K (or C25K). With the program, you run 3 times per week. At first you are running 1 minute at a time and you work up to 30 minutes. Well, I could BARELY run for 1 minute at a time back in June, and now I run about 50 minutes, or a little over 3 miles, every weekend!!! And, I entered a 5K last Saturday.

 

I actually participated in 2 other 5Ks about 7 years ago, but I wasn't a 'runner' then. I would run as long as I could (a couple of minutes) then walk until I could run again. This time, I was hoping to run the whole 3.1 miles. But, the heat and the speed (I was going faster than usual!), got to me and I walked a lot of the last mile. Anyway, here is my timing chip on my shoe... I had to find a kind runner to help me figure out how to put it on. I later returned the favor and helped someone else!

 

This run was at a high school and it was neat having the band playing, the cheerleaders cheering, and the track team running! The cheerleaders helped us line up by holding signs for various paces. I lined up with the 10+ minute runners. The group behind me was the walkers. My pace is usual a 15 minute 30 second mile, so I knew I was slow. As a matter of fact, I ran with the walkers... a lot of them could keep up with me! But, I will get faster!

Alex took this photo of me when I got home. There were a lot of snacks on tables after the race, and I helped myself to fruit, a protein drink, and half a muffin. I always feel like eating healthy after I run!

So, I have another 5K coming up in 2 more weeks. My time on this race was (a slow) 46 minutes 30 seconds, but I did it! My pace was slightly under 15 minutes per mile. I'm hoping to do a little better next time... maybe under 45 minutes? It's a Komen Race for the Cure so it'll be HUGE! Actually, even this local race had almost 1,000 runners!!!