| A little over a year ago, some friends from a local 'moms group' decided
to train together to run a 5K race that happens in Rocky Mount every
spring, to raise funds for local charities. I was pregnant with Kate,
and given my lifelong lack of exercise, I decided not to try take up
running just then, but made it a goal to do it this year. t seemed like it was forever until this day would come... I started training with the C25K program in January, having never run in my life, and thinking any form of exercise was complete torture.. I really was a couch potato who never did a stitch of exercise aside from chasing my kids. LOL Day 1 of training was HORRIBLE... the schedule was 5min walk - 2min jog - 5min walk. I nearly DIED running those 2 minutes... seriously.. I was like 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I have to run 5K???" I hated my Dreadmill - still do! But it was the only option most days for getting a run in, so I stuck with it. I was suppose to be done with the training by mid March, but kids, illnesses and lack of sleep got in the way, so I was still working on it, and never actually did finish the training. LOL.. my treadmill is just MUCH too boring. By this morning...RACE DAY, I had still not run a full 5K without stopping.. Back in January, my goal was to complete it in 30 minutes... by this morning I had accepted that it would probably be more like 34-35 minutes and I was totally OK with that... I was so nervous... porta-potty trip before the race. LOL Then we headed to the start line, and what do you know... I need to pee AGAIN... too late... race is about to start. And we're off... I immediately managed to get into a good, comfortable pace, which I was surprised by.. I thought it would take me a while. I started to speed up a bit, because I felt like I could push myself a bit..at least for a while.. I figured I'd tire eventually. I don't have a GPS, and wasn't even wearing a watch, and for some reason I kept missing the mile markers, so I had NO IDEA how far I'd run, or how long I'd been running. I just kept following those ahead of me, and hoped that around the next corner I'd see the finish line. I ran with friends along the way... both have run multiple races before (one just finished her first 1/2 marathon)... I ran with them a while, then went on ahead. I kept thinking they'd pick up the pace and pass me again but they never did...I'm not complaining. LOL I had been told before hand that the course was FLAT... FLAT my butt... maybe if you're driving it it seems flat, but my legs were telling me otherwise. We ran though a section of a wooded park...it was short, but STEEP, and the tar trail was all broken up by tree roots growing under it. I had to slow down up that hill, and my legs were burning at the top, but I kept going. I started to recognise where I was again, and I knew that the finish line wasn't far... I still had no idea how long I'd been running for, but I figured it was probably around 30 minutes... I tried to pick up my pace, but I was stuck in a rhythm and I figured that was ok... Finally I rounded the last corner, and I saw the finish... once I could see it, I found my 'oomph' to pick up the pace, and I started going a bit faster... I got towards the end where I spotted the clock, and there was still a 2 in front of the time... WHAT THE FREAK ??? lol I kept running... going into a bit of a sprint... Then I saw it... my time... I finally crossed the finish line and in 28:07 I not only met my goal.. I BEAT IT... I must have been on a serious adrenaline high. I now know what AWESOME feels like  To add to the awesome-ness, I got home and checked the times online, to discover I had placed 2ND in my age category (20-29yr olds)... WHOOP WHOOP... So I've done it... and it was great... 
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| Timing chip attached to my shoelace |
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| The Final Stretch to the finish |
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| Coming up to the finish (the guy in the red is my OBGYN who delivered Kate. lol) |
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| FINISHED... Final time 28:07 |
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| I placed 2ND in my age group :) |
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| My Support Team :) |
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