Back in March I ran my first 5K in Cullowhee, NC. Since then I've run four more 5K's... it's pretty addicting I must say.
"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a run... from that day on, if I was going somewhere, I WAS RUNNIN'!"
-Forrest Gump
Running for a Reason
Since March, I've recruited a new running partner, a girl from work, Robyn. I found that running with someone works way better than running by yourself. This proved true of my first race with her. We raced in Troy, NC at the 1st annual Running for a Reason 5K to support Relay for Life and finished within 31 minutes. A whole three minutes faster than my first race (granted the course was MUCH easier and not in the mountains).
Rugged Maniac
My next race after that was not your typical 5K. It was 3.1 miles, but it was also an obstacle course.... in the mud. Rugged Maniac is what actually what got me motivated to run. 10,000 people, wether spectating or racing, where in and out of that place all day long.... along with the ambulance. I guess having to sign a wavier form to run this race was a good indication that there was a possibility of getting hurt. Running through mud pits, crawling in ditches, climbing over walls, swimming through muddy waters, jumping over fire pits, you name it, we probably did it within that three mile course. I ran with a "team". That is, a group of people that all ran the race during the same time wave. We were there to help each other over the different obstacles. Our team name: The Mud Slugs. Clever huh? I only really knew two of the members of our group, but non the less we all still had a good time. To be honest, I kinda broke away from the group shortly after the buzzer and ran it at my own pace. Unfortunately, a guy on our team fell off one of the walls you had to climb up and over and ended up breaking his ribs so I was told.
One muddy stained girl.
Randolph RoadRunners 5K Health Run
The next race that Robyn and I entered was a local one here in Asheboro. This one was not our best race by any means. In fact, it was probably one of my worst. The course for whatever reason, always proved to kick my butt every time I attempted to run it. None the less, we did finish it in 35 minutes. I was shooting for under 40, so I guess you could say that I accomplished my goal.
Beach Blast 5K
After doing the RoadRunners 5K, someone told me about the Beach Blast 5K in Albemarle, NC. Well heck, since I was on a racing streak, I might as well enter this one as well. This course was pretty difficult with the hills that were in it. However, when I run, I run in my neighborhood of Greystone. If you know Greystone, you know that it is made up of nothing but hills, so I was somewhat prepared. I didn't do too terribly bad here, finishing in 32 minutes.
My goal is to become faster, obviously. I really enjoy running. It clears my head and is a GREAT workout. I am also working on my distance. The furthest I've run is 5.1 miles with the hopes of one day soon stepping up my game and entering a 10K. However, I do have one more 5K in mind for the future and as soon as registration opens up I'm signing up for it. I encourage you to check this one out if you live in NC. It looks like soooo much fun! I would like to get a bunch of people to run/walk it wearing a white t-shirt and tutu. So if you're interested, let me know!
Lady, you are AWESOME!
ReplyDelete