My 4th 5k ~ Go Girl Run

May 25, 2013 ~ Well today was going to mark my 4th 5k this year. The Go Girl Run would consist of a 1/2 marathon starting at 7:00 am and a 5k starting at 7:15 am..... I would be doing the later one. My life is busy (as many of you know) and between races I don't do anything.... I don't train, I don't jog and I don't eat the best. I eat the things I want but in moderation. I always try to choose a healthier option when I can but I'm not gonna lie.... I love a good ol' burger. On this challenge to get a little healthier I am doing things at my pace. I signed up for my first 5k on April 6, 2013 (The Glow Run) and surprised myself at what I could do. I didn't worry about a time but rather focused on not giving up. In this short month and a half I have again surprised myself with each race I have beat my previous time. My goal on the first two was to complete them in under 45 minutes which I was able to do. My third 5k I just wanted to complete in under 40 minutes which I did.

My accountability partner is Elizabeth Tate. We have decided that we have to hold each other accountable because it's so easy to just stay in bed at 6:00 am on a race day. We both feel if we pay to do this then we have to complete it.... rain or shine! (We have both done a 5k in the rain) It's amazing to see how many people you know also participating in the 5k's. This is Cara Christianson and she is participating in her 8th 1/2 marathon.... You Go Girl! Elizabeth and I know that we aren't even close to doing a 1/2 marathon but it's something that we want to maybe look at next year.

Many people have asked if I speed-walk/jog/run with anyone. My answer is always no. It's not because I don't want to but rather it's easier for me to go at my own pace and cool down when I need to and pick up the pace when I feel I need to. Currently I don't listen to music and all I have is an app that I downloaded on my phone called "Map My Run". At miles 1, 2 and 3 a voice will come on and tell you what mile you are at and what your pace is which is nice to hear. I also pick someone who is pacing at a good speed (not too fast and not too slow) and follow them. If they fall behind me then I pick someone else until I find someone that I can keep up with.

My goal for this 5k was to complete in under 40 minutes. I found a lady around mile 2 that I could pace. I felt good, my knees felt good and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard but hard enough. Ended up we crossed the finish line together! (She was just a little ahead of me but I gave her a high-five when we finished!) You can't imagine the feeling of crossing a finish line, hearing your name on the loud speaker and seeing all the people waiting to cheer you on as you round the corner.... truly amazing! I did it!

I was proud.... I had no clue at what my time was but I felt that I was able to jog about 85% of the time and speed walk to cool down the remaining time. Elizabeth had finished just before me and was waiting for me. We were given wine glasses as our finishing gift and that was the best tasting water! Cheers! 

After I cooled down for a moment (this ol' girl was hot!) I went over to get my results printed out.....

Awesome!!! I was so excited to see that I completed this 5k in 35:44:84! What an accomplishment! This would be my best time yet!

The official results are found here by age....

http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=31674&submit_action=select_result&order_by=entrant.AGE&group_by=AGE#racetop

Basically the cool part is:

Total number of finishers: 517

Total number of females: 481

Total number of males: 36

Average time: 38:26

My personal statistics:

My age currently is 36

I finished at number 6 out of 12 in my age bracket

I placed 251 overall

I placed 31 of 75 in my division (35-39 year olds)

I placed 227 out of 481 in the female division

Not too bad for an out of shape girl! A huge congratulations to everyone who participated in either the 5k or the 1/2 marathon, cheered people on, volunteered and helped to put this event together! What a huge success! 

I found these pictures of Elizabeth and I before the race....

If you look in the crowd you will see Elizabeth's blonde hair sticking up! 

This was the only "before" picture of me... 

If you see the guy in the front right side of the photo... that's my face over his left shoulder!

Elizabeth crossing the finish line! You Go Girl! 

 These pictures cracked me up... it wasn't pretty and I was pushing pretty hard but so was this woman. I paced her for the last mile and gave her a huge high-five when we crossed the finish line!