No ifs, ands or buts

you may recall this post..
http://flporters.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-didnt-but-i-did.html

well this time...

I DID IT!!!

Turkey Trot 2009 was my first fully ran 5K.

Okay, okay so maybe a few ifs, like some people may have argued that it was just an exaggerated walk, but it was running for me, not stopping per my book. My time was 39:01, and I'll just proudly say that's a 12:30 pace...isn't it nice that you can snicker w/o me hearing you? For me though that time was good.

Brandon and the kids were there to welcome me. Later I asked Cole, when I was running into the finish line was I running superfast, medium or slow (in comparison to how I had been running all along it felt like I was a freight train)..Cole very lovingly said ...medium (better than slow I suppose). I thought I was going to die at the end when I was running medium.

Here's the cool thing though, at the two mile mark I was ready to cross over to the 10k lane and the race seemed short (you know at the end), so even though the week before I said I was never running again after the race, I may have a little fever now. Like can I better my time on the 5k? Can I go for the 10? Will I be in next year's Boston Marathon - okay one too far.

I couldn't have done it w/o Rachel...and her persistence, thanks Rach!

And guess what?

cue Rocky Theme

there were hills, only two but one was kind of steep. Next year I will concur those hills in Indianhead. Aren't you glad you can sing the Rocky theme song w/o me hearing you ;)!!!!

Don't hate the beauty in these pics!

I didn't, but I did

that could be applied to many aspects of my life for good or naught. This particular reference is to my third annual Women's Festival 5K. It's held in the Indianhead neighborhood, cute little area - with hills - small detail of much importance. I loved the hill factor the first year because going downhill gave me some steam. No so much the case this year.

I'm not a runner...why I've decided to take this venture up is beyond me. Until three years ago the only mile I ever ran was in high school for an ROTC requirement and I had a fierce retired Army colonel on my heels making sure I finished.

So some twenty years later, Brandon and I are on a date at a very non healthy mexican restuarant and I see a flyer advertising this race. I ask Brandon as he's rolling me to the car after dinner, you think I could do this? His response was, next year? This was two months before the race for the current year, fair question but I was still insulted and thereby determined.

I found a program called couch to 5k in two months, and thought, Hey that's me. It worked for the most part. It was a slow, painful start, but I started and kept with it. I was super nervous on race day. I ran/walked it but I finished it and I wasn't last, definitely in the bottom, but not last. I loved the atmosphere of the race, the different stories you could see.

I didn't run another race until the following year, same race, but not alone, MJ (six months prego) and MA (placed fourth in her age category- props to both) came along and that added an extra umph and I made better time.

I did the turkey trot that year as well and it was raining, but it was nice not to have the hills.

And finally to year three, great goodness, how did this get so winded? So I wasn't thinking doing the race, but my friend Rachel moved back into town and we started the couch to 5k program so I knew I needed to do this race and I really, really thought I might be able to run the whole thing. The Saturday before I ran two miles for the first time ever.

I tried psyching myself up, but I forgot about those hills, not about them all together, but their slight steepness in places, length in others and quantity.

I also ate tons of crap days before the race...go figure.


At one point as I was climbing one of the last two hills , I kept repeating... it's just a hill, it's gotta go down, it's just a hill, it's gotta go down.

cue Chariot's of Fire theme....

This hill decided it was not going down anytime soon, not high but long...I stopped chanting and one more hill after that I stopped running :(.

kill Chariot's of Fire theme.....

Bummer.

But,
cue Rocky theme....

I didn't accomplish all I wanted, I did come closer and I will continue until it's done.....

it's stated in cyberspace now so I have to live up to it.

I'm going to do the turkey trot again this year and hope for dry weather and give it my all...there are no goal threatening hills, not that I recall anyway. :)

kill Rocky theme