5K

Kendra, Kelli, Carol, Amy, Emily, me, Celeste

The running bug has bit... and I'm slightly addicted. I ran my first 5K this weekend with a group of girls from my ward and it was awesome! We ran the Teterboro Airport 5K in NJ along the runway. It was pretty cool, except for the lack of shade and the fact that it was like the 2nd hottest day of the summer (the first one being the day that I ran my 10K! -- guess I'm bad luck) but the bonus was that there were no hills!

I definitely wasn't as nervous this time because I sort of knew what to expect. But in a way I think the 5K is a little harder than the 10K because there's really no time to start kinda slow and get into your groove. And it's so tempting to just go as hard and fast as you can right from the beginning. But I was happy with my time. My goal was to do it under 30 minutes and I got in at 26:37. It's crazy how much adrenaline plays a part in your pace during an actual race. In my training since the 10K, I hadn't ever gotten my pace down under 9 minutes for any extended period of time. But in the race my average pace was 8:34... so that was pretty cool.

I still think it's funny that I have a passion for running now. I can think back to my junior high days and some serious trauma that took place at the stake track meets every year when I would always come in last at every race I tried. And I remember everyone always trying to encourage me by telling me that I didn't need to be an athlete and that I had "other talents" -- like nerdy music ones. So, I guess I do get some satisfaction out of actually not finishing a race last... oh, and the slimming/trimming benefits aren't bad either!

I'm seriously contemplating a half-marathon this fall... hmmm, we'll see!