Komen 5K

Yes, it's official - I ran my first official race this morning! I figured it would be smart to run a smaller race before the Half Marathon in 5 weeks (eek!!). I wanted to get a feel for what it would be like to run with lots of people around and to see what the adrenaline would be like. I convinced Nicole to run the Susan G. Komen 5K in Colorado Springs this morning at Garden of the Gods. Yes, pretty much anything that's in support of eliminating cancer gets my support! Got up bright and early and was greeted with cold and foggy weather - not exactly the best day weather I could have asked for - but there was no rain :) Although, I did have to wear my silly turtleneck dri-fit shirt because it was the only long sleeved one I had and I had to wear something a bit warmer to make up for the fact that I was wearing my running skirt and it was only 55 degrees out! The race started at 8am and I was excited ... until I remembered and was smacked with a hill for the first mile of the race! For as much as I run at GOTG, I forgot how tough that first hill was. We made it up the monster hill and continued on the race, which was relatively flat and downhill for the remainder. It was pretty neat to have people out there along the course cheering and having bands play music every 1/2 mile - it was a smaller scale of what the half marathon is going to be like and it was cool. We finished off strong - even though Nicole sprinted towards her version of the "finish line" just to find that we still had another .2 miles to go. We finished at 37:25 - exactly at the pace we we had planned on so I would consider it a successful morning.


I think I might be hooked on the 5k races. I love the fact that they're small and consist of runners of all skills - I felt good to know that I was bringing up the rear of the pack like I normally do when I run. 3.1 miles is a great distance and doesn't kill my body like some of the long runs do - in fact, I was still able to go to church and to the sports bar to watch the Cowboys play right after running - not like after my long runs. Races are also the motivation I need to get up and get a great workout in - I certainly won't miss a race that I've already signed up for. Expect to see a few more pictures and results from 5k races in the future!

Today's Miles: 3.5
Total Miles: 173.0