I'm so excited and proud of myself. I ran the Ford's Colony 5K this morning and had a great time. I had two pre-race goals ...
1) Run more minutes than I walk. I don't think I hit this goal because I lost track of the number of running minutes. I finished in 41:50.3 which is slow, but that's okay. I've only been doing this for a month and a half. I would have liked to finish under 40 minutes, but I'll try to achieve that at the Harvest Days 5K in October.
2) Not finish in last place. I achieved this goal. I was 48th out of 68 women who finished the 5K. Again, not very fast and not a great finish, but that's okay. Again, I'll try to do even better in October.
All in all, it was a great event and I had a blast. Even though I don't have anything to compare it to, I really think the Rocky Mount Endurance Club organized a great race. I certainly hope they'll do it again next year.
A special thanks to Bobbie from Rocky Mount who ran with me from around 2.5 miles to the end. It was great finishing together. Since I always run by myself in the mornings, it was a nice change to have a partner. Maybe I'll see her again at another race.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
I'm a Wal-Mart Runner
Not that there's anything wrong with that ...
As I mentioned before, I do not have a very good track record for developing new hobbies and/or lifestyle changes and actually sticking to them. So, I decided from the beginning I was going to try to limit my investment in this adventure until I am 100% certain I'm going to follow through with it.
That commitment lasted all of, you know 1 day, as I decided I really did need a few essentials as I defined them. So that meant a trip to Wal-Mart where I purchased a digital watch with a stopwatch (can you really call it a chronograph if the watch was only $7.87?). I also purchased some wicking shorts and shirt (both by Athletic Works). And, even though I knew it was probably a waste of the money, I spent a grand total of $12 on a fancy, schmancy pair of Athletic Works running shoes.
That's the one purchase that I promised myself I would do-over at an actual running store and have a sales associate fit me with a proper pair of shoes that cost more than $12. And that's where I am right now, my Wal-Mart watch & clothes are still just fine. The shoes, however, I am already looking forward to replacing after the September payday and a visit to Raleigh Running Outfitters!
As I mentioned before, I do not have a very good track record for developing new hobbies and/or lifestyle changes and actually sticking to them. So, I decided from the beginning I was going to try to limit my investment in this adventure until I am 100% certain I'm going to follow through with it.
That commitment lasted all of, you know 1 day, as I decided I really did need a few essentials as I defined them. So that meant a trip to Wal-Mart where I purchased a digital watch with a stopwatch (can you really call it a chronograph if the watch was only $7.87?). I also purchased some wicking shorts and shirt (both by Athletic Works). And, even though I knew it was probably a waste of the money, I spent a grand total of $12 on a fancy, schmancy pair of Athletic Works running shoes.
That's the one purchase that I promised myself I would do-over at an actual running store and have a sales associate fit me with a proper pair of shoes that cost more than $12. And that's where I am right now, my Wal-Mart watch & clothes are still just fine. The shoes, however, I am already looking forward to replacing after the September payday and a visit to Raleigh Running Outfitters!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Even I'm still amazed ...
It's been 5.5 weeks and I'm still waking up at what is, for me, the ridiculous time of a few minutes before 6:00 each day to work out. But it gets even better ... every other day during those 5.5 weeks with few exceptions I've actually been going outside & running.
I know, I can't believe it either! 5.5 weeks of consistent anything is like 5.5 months in Doris-years. I've had so many times in my life of starting a hobby/project/almost anything & being so very excited for a week or so & then tiring of it.
But not this, not so far. I'm still struggling with running for a very long time, but I've built up to 4 minutes & then recovering by walking for 2-3 minutes before starting another 4 minute run. I've even signed up for a 5K on Saturday, September 13. I have 2 goals for the 5K: 1) run more minutes than I walk and 2) not finish in last place. The unwritten but obvious goals are obviously: 1) do not die and 2) finish the race.
So there you go. Things have been exciting for me since July 30. I've started a healthier lifestyle that I'm really enjoying. And I'm doing something new by running a 5K. And now a blog ... wow, what next?
I know, I can't believe it either! 5.5 weeks of consistent anything is like 5.5 months in Doris-years. I've had so many times in my life of starting a hobby/project/almost anything & being so very excited for a week or so & then tiring of it.
But not this, not so far. I'm still struggling with running for a very long time, but I've built up to 4 minutes & then recovering by walking for 2-3 minutes before starting another 4 minute run. I've even signed up for a 5K on Saturday, September 13. I have 2 goals for the 5K: 1) run more minutes than I walk and 2) not finish in last place. The unwritten but obvious goals are obviously: 1) do not die and 2) finish the race.
So there you go. Things have been exciting for me since July 30. I've started a healthier lifestyle that I'm really enjoying. And I'm doing something new by running a 5K. And now a blog ... wow, what next?
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