5K Day

i dont think of myself as a nervous person. the things that get most people rattled, get me excited. that's why i am always so surprised when my body completely IGNORES the fact that i am 100% ok.....and decides to start acting like im scared to death.


this happened when i moved to AZ. even though i was so excited and happy about leaving, i was up the whole night before i left....throwing up. it took me forever to realize it was nerves.

the same thing happened with my wedding. i had been waiting for this day for so long and i was ecstatic to get to wear my dress and get my hair done and cut the cake and dance at my reception.....oh, yeah, AND get married. but, yet again, my body decided to to act all scared. not fun.


well. the same thing happened with this 5K. i was super thrilled at the idea! i knew it was only 3 miles. i can walk 3 miles! but the night before, panic set in. i couldnt sleep and was sick to my stomach.

that's when it hit me. my body gave the same reaction to a 5K as it did to LIFE ALTERING EVENTS (moving across country and getting married). this was huge for me. it's something completely out of character for me. not just "something i hadnt done before"....for me it means so much more. its a big part of the steps im taking to be the person i want to be.


so, the morning of the 5K, i got up at 7 am. had 2 eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast and i was out the door. when we got there, i had to register (because i am a huge procrastinator and didnt pre-register). the sad thing is that they ran out of the cool orange tee-shirts...so i had to put my name on a list and they will let me know when more come in. a record number of people showed up...so not only did they run out of shirts, they also ran out of numbers!! but i (mwah-hah-ha) got the last one! wooo hooooo! dont i look all official?!














standing at the starting line waiting to begin. it was a such a gorgeous day! perfect weather. blue sky. light breeze. around 70 degrees.












then the bell rang and we all starting going. walking..running....people passing. people passing.....people passing. then it hit me. oh. my. god. i am REALLY going to be the LAST one. i had joked about this. but i never actually thought it would HAPPEN. i was going as fast as i COULD. my legs were burning. burning. burning.













some very kind friends kept the slow pace with me. which was extremely kind of them....especially since i know it was just a stroll for them. and i did tell them on numerous occasions that they could go ahead. but they didnt. good friends. and we really WERE pretty much the last ones. one of my friends kept looking behind us and assuring me that we werent COMPLETELY last....there was one person behind us....a pregnant lady....pushing a stroller....

but FINALLY! the finish line. it was just like those stories that i never believe about child birth....how its the worst agony of your life...but the second you see your baby you forget all the pain. i felt that. when i saw that finish line. all i felt was joy.















my time was a pathetic 1:01:21. but i did it. im sure im the only person in the world who did a happy dance because she finished a 5K in an hour! but that was GREAT time for me! that's a pace of more than 3 miles an hour. and for me, to keep that pace for an hour is outstanding! dont i look happy??















after the 5K, my mom (who was one of the friends that walked with me) took me to lunch. we got my absolute FAVORITE.....indian food! doesnt it look great??












then we spent the afternoon sitting on her back deck playing games and enjoying her view. isnt it beautiful??












it was so nice spending time with her. its funny how parents go from being your whole world to hardly ever seeing them. it had been too long since we just hung out. it was great.

so, next year my goal is to do the 5K again. yes. thats it. just do it again. if i can walk/run that would be even better. more than anything i just want to be still doing this. i want to still be eating healthy (for the most part) and exercising. i want to still be taking those steps to become who i want to be.