Another 5k?

It's true, I ran another 5k on December 17th and I'm just NOW getting to write about it.


My first 5k was October 22, 2011. I ran it in just over 31 minutes. Since then I have ran a 5k November 5th, November 24 and then my last on December 17th. My November 5th race was still right around 31 minutes. Then on Thanksgiving my time was 28 minutes! 


Coming into this race on December 17th, I had a goal of getting in the 25 minute range. I got 26 minutes and ONE SECOND!!! Gah! I was kind of REALLY bitter. I know it's an amazing personal record and I beat my last time by 2 minutes, but for some reason I was just kind of mad at myself. Don't ask why. It's silly, I know.


The race was the most intense race I've done. There were 500+ people!! I got a spot up by the starting spot. One of my last races I went to the back, only like 60 people there though, but trying to weave around everyone killed me. And since I had a goal of 25 minutes, I headed up front. When the man blew the horn everyone SPRINTED off. A guy was tripped in front of me and I had to jump to not kick his heels and trip myself. It was so insane starting. So many people! It was intense! The whole race I felt like I was sprinting. Every now and again I felt like I could pick up my pace, so I did. I felt really really good the whole time. At about the half mile left point, I began to get really cramp-y. I really wanted to pick up my pace and run as fast as I could, but I couldn't! As I crossed the finish line and then learned of my time, I got mad at myself for not running just a little faster! The whole day I was just beating myself up. Why didn't I just push a little harder. If I would have, I would have reached my goal. 


I think maybe it was a good learning experience for me. With this whole weight loss/getting into shape, I haven't really set any goals. But if I have, I've reached them with ease. Maybe the goal itself wasn't very hard to reach in the first place? Who knows. But everything changed this morning. I received an email from the people hosting the race, and in that email was the official race results. I opened the link not expecting to see anything interesting, but you know what I found?? Out of 345 girls I took 31st!!!! Seriously!?! I was soooo proud. So excited. I sent a text to some of  my family and had a bragging moment, sorry! But man! Really? Out of 345 girls I took 31st? WOW! And I took 11th out of 89 girls in my 20-29 age group. I had no idea I did that well. Now I'm beating myself up for beating myself up after the race! haha Just kidding. But I've learned to not do that. And just be proud of everything I do. 


I cannot express my emotions right now. Going from a fatty mom who didn't stick to any workout plans for 4 years, starting out not even being able to run a whole mile, now just 2 1/2 months later I am running a 26 minute 5k, a 7'50 minute mile and completing a 12k (7.5 miles). I can't believe it. It seriously just amazes me. And to tell the truth, I have no idea what is keeping me going. I've just made it into a habit now. I don't even think about it anymore. If I miss a day, I just feel horrible. I'm starting to do 2 workouts a day now because I'm hitting a plateau. I read somewhere that when you first start a workout, your body has to work really hard and after repeating the workout your body doesn't have to work as hard. I didn't think about that. Honestly, it makes total sense. But I figured if I ran this many miles per week, I'd keep losing. and I'm not. Running 4 miles isn't hard at all anymore. Running at a 9 minute per mile that is. So I need to get a little faster pace. (Speaking of 4 miles, I usually run the same amount each week. Mondays 4, Wednesdays 3, and Fridays 5 or 6. So I have ran a few 4 mile routes. My time is usually around 45 minutes. So this past Monday, I set out for my run and ended up finishing 10 minutes faster! It was awesome! 


Anyway, kind of got long winded. I am so proud of where I've come in just 2 1/2 months. I hope I can still be inspiring to those of you who read my updates. Anyone can do this. You have to just dig deep and remember why. Once you start seeing results or start running longer distances with out stopping, you will get a ton more motivation and keep going. I promise. That's what starting developing my running/working out into a habit.