Run, Forrest, Run

As aforementioned (don't I sound scholarly?), I have taken up running - well, maybe not so much running, but jogging. I completed my 5K - check, now I have set my sights on the Fall Festival 10K in October. In order to run and not injure myself, a good pair of "running shoes" was required. Unfortunately, mine aren't the cool Nikes that Forrest wore in Forrest Gump, but they are pretty close. I found these babies at Off N'Running in Greensboro.



They did set me back a little bit, but I feel its worth it if they will prevent me from injuries that would require medical attention and lots of $$$$. I used some leftover Christmas money to buy them. Off N' Running is a great store because they want to fit you in the best shoe for your foot. I tried on several pair(s) of shoes and with each new pair, I got on a treadmill and walked and then ran for several seconds (That just gave them a good idea on which type of shoe would fit my running style). I will definitely go back, they were super helpful and friendly.

Along with the new shoes, Wesley got a new ride. That's right, we purchased a jogging stroller. Of course, its not just any jogging stroller. Its a Consumer Reports recommended all-terrain stroller (Hmmm, wonder who researched that for me?). I don't have a picture to show you yet, maybe I'll work on that for a future post. Its really nice though, with a swivel wheel that can also lock for when I am running. Its a smooth ride and has a child tray for the redhead's "cahs". We have taken it on several walks and a couple of jogs. Jogging while pushing a stroller with a 27lb child is a TOTALLY different ballgame than jogging solo - especially in our neighborhood which is anything but flat. This will be good training for the 10K...if I don't die first.

So, there you have it. The exciting life of a jogging mom, her new shoes, and jogging stroller. And now I'm a "Runnin' Fool".

Start to Finish

See this?

That's right...I completed my first 5K (3.1 miles) race - EVER!!!!! YAY!!!! And I did it in 32 min. 33 sec. Pretty decent for a first-timer. That's just under an 11 minute mile.

I was a little afraid that I wouldn't be able to do it considering I have had a cold for about a week and haven't run in a week and a half. I ran with my sister who can be a bit faster than me - she was gracious and hung with me, even though she could have gotten a much better time. Thanks Sarah! There were a couple of times where I wanted to throw in the towel, but I stuck with it and only walked 100 yards at the most.

It was great to see the finish line and the fact that my parents and Wesley were there cheering us on was so much fun. Unfortunately Adam had to work, so he got the report via phone.

Ever since high school (when I started running) I have wanted to run a 5K just so I could say I have run one. After college, I quit running and started walking instead. This past January I decided to start running again and found a great training plan online. I figured between giving birth a year and a half ago and turning 30 last year, I could set some kind of goal to meet before I turn 31 and running a 5K was a good one. I would love to run the Asheboro 10K (6.2 miles) in October, so that's a good goal to work toward. I hear its a doozie - I've got a lot of training to do.

Here are my results for the race:

Out of the women who ran (63 to be exact), I placed 43rd. Out of the women in my age group (13), I placed 10th. Not great, but I wasn't last! I'm not sure how I did overall- there were 159 runners-but I am proud of myself nonetheless. Here's some pictures of the day...

Sarah and I get ready to cross the finish line -
my crazy excited face is because we saw Wesley and my parents

We're done - WHEEEEE!

Wesley with my parents, his "Papa" and "Nona" and his "cah" of course!

A New Venture

I am trying something new that I've wanted to do ever since Wesley was born. I am going to run a 5K! Back in the 9th or 10th grade I started running and actually got pretty good. I wanted to try out for cross country in high school, but I was too afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the other better runners on the team, so I never even gave it a chance. That was then, back before I'd pushed a 7lb 3oz baby out of you know where with 6 people watching. Wesley's birth and being a mother sparked something in me that says "You know what? I don't really care as much about what other people think of me anymore!" I'm willing to take risks because I have this great husband and child to support me. I also heard my sister (who has run a 10K) and my cousin (who has run a marathon!) talking about running and it really excited me, so I decided to go for it.

So, on April 26th, I'm going to run in the 5K Health Run here in town. I went online to www.coolrunning.com and found a training program called "From Couch Potato to 5K". Its a 9 week user-friendly program to get you running 3 miles in 30 minutes and I have really enjoyed it. I'm on week 5 and this week I'll be running 2 miles without any walking! I'm pumped about this and looking forward to the race. There are some great resources for runners out there. Another cool website I found was www.mapmyrun.com which lets you plot on a map the routes that you walk/run and will tell you the distance and elevation. You can also keep a training log on your workouts. Membership to mapmyrun.com is free, you just sign up with a username and password. You can check for races in your state and city by going to www.runningintheusa.com and selecting your state. They list races going on in different cities each month and give you links to the websites of the races. I've set my sights on April 26th and who knows what will happen after that. But, come April 27th, I'll be able to say I've run a 5K!