29:59

I ran my first ever 5K on Saturday and it exceeded every expectation I had for the event. We started the run on historic Beale Street in downtown Memphis. Just as all 1600 runners started to line up for the race, it began to rain, in buckets. A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky. The crowd roared. It was pretty exciting, just waiting for the race to start, the sudden storm just added to the excitement. "I hope I don't get struck!" I joked to a runner next to me. "Well if I get hit, it wouldn't be the first time", she chimed in. She actually wasn't joking, she got struck a few years ago when lightning hit a tree near by her. She had a very striking personality. Ha ha.

The excitement of running with so many other people definitely got my adrenaline pumping. I had the biggest smile on my face the entire race. Just as I was turning to corner off of Beale street, I heard someone scream my name. On the corner I saw my sister, dad, brother and husband (eating a hot dog and drinking a beer) all holding signs with my name on. It was such an unexpected surprise and gave me a tremendous boost.The first mile of the race, it felt like hundreds of people were constantly streaming past me, at a much faster clip than I could possibly keep up with. By mile two I had found my stride, and I was keeping up just fine with everyone around me. Mile three, I actually started to pass a couple of people. I would focus on someone a few feet in front on me and race against them, then pick someone else to focus on. I managed to beat the guy in the red shorts, the girl with the blue bird tatoos, and love handles guy.

I made use of every water station, but still kept running while I drank my water. It is very difficult to drink water out of a paper cup and run at the same time.

When we turned the corner back onto Beale, I actually sprinted the last leg of the race. I was surpised and excited when I realized I had made it in under 30 minutes! My hubby was there, smoking a cigar, along with the rest of family, soaked to the bone. I had a post- race banana, and we all headed home for hot showers, pizza and beer. It was a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

I feel so good about actually accomplishing something that I set out to do. I am looking for a 10K to register for in about 6 weeks. Not finding any nearby however.

Gibson Guitar 5K- 06 11 2011

And finally, here's a "before" picture for you. Well, more of a "during" picture.

First 5K is today!

I am running my very first 5K today. I think I am prepared. I feel a little bit like a student who has gone to class all semester, but who also hasn't killed themselves by staying up all night for a week drinking coffee and cramming index cards full of information into their brains. I feel like I have done just about the bare minimum amount of preparation to make it through. I can't believe that at the beginning of training 10 weeks ago, running 60 seconds at a time seemed daunting. Now I can run comfortably for a 30 minute stretch.

A little nervous/ excited/ scared! Wish me luck!

Running Update

Well it turns out that I don't have arthritis, so that's good. I have two more training runs before the 5k race on Saturday. I am very excited and a little nervous. I was starting to get into what I thought was pretty good shape, then it got hot. Trying to run when it is about 100 degrees outside makes you realize that you are not quite as fit as you thought you might be. I am going to try and run the full 5 kilometers today and Wednesday before the big race just to see how I do. Up until this point, the most I have run in one stretch has been about 2.3 miles.

In other news I have been on a really strict vegan diet for about two weeks now, eating mostly raw foods: fruit smoothies, salads, seeds, nuts. I am not enjoying it one bit. It is completely joyless and tasteless but I am losing weight very steadily. Ugggh, I just want a buttered baguette with some yummy fontina, a rib eye and a glass of Chianti. But I promised myself I would stick to this stupid diet for 28 days just to try it out. If nothing else, I am learning a little bit about self discipline. I didn't realize it before, but whenever I get bored, or upset or frustrated, I get hungry. I never realized how much I just graze in front of the refrigerator, or eat my toddler's left overs. I think that after this 28 day raw vegan experiment, I am just going to eat normally, but try and cut out those bad habits and I should be fine! No more crazy restrictive diets for me after this thankyouverymuch.