"Live By Example" 5K recap

So apparently I decided to take a nearly two week hiatus from the whole updating a blog thing.  Time flies when you're working on final projects/booking social obligations nearly every night.  I gotta learn to say no.  Every week on Sunday night, I think about my week ahead and I'm like, "Ah, barring some act of God, I only have to do one thing this week."  And then somehow I end up doing something every night.  Gah.

Enough about my social calendar.  Let's get down to the nitty gritty.  This week I am on week three of Ripped in 30.

This is what loving motivation looks like.

I'm working on doing a full review of the Ripped in 30 complete with before/after measurements.  For now though, just let me say, holy shiz these workouts will kick your butt...but provided you follow a somewhat decent meal plan and add in a little extra cardio you WILL see results.  Trust me on that one.  It's been two weeks and I have seen a HUGE difference.

Okay, next up.  "Live By Example" 5K.  This race was this past Saturday and was to benefit the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad.  Subtract the rain, hail, 20mph winds and add on about 15 degrees to the temp. and this was literally the 5K I did two weeks ago.  It started at 24th street and was the same course down the boardwalk and then back up.  There were a lot more people for this race probably because the weather was somewhat cooperative.  I ran this race with my good friend Carey.

Me and Carey.  She is a rock star!

 

 

The wind was still pretty bad the last mile and half back but not as bad as my 5K two weeks ago.  I ended up finishing in 24:59, with an average pace of 8:07.

Me sprinting to the finish.

You can't really tell, but in that picture there is a 10 year old boy directly behind me.  I caught up to this kid probably the last mile and we were neck and neck until the end.  Did I feel like a jerk for sprinting past a 10 year old and ultimately beating him?  Yes, but that's just how I roll.

I took 2nd for my age group (Female 20-29).  I got a medal...and forgot to take a picture, so...sorry.  Just picture your average medal and that's about it.

Maybe one of these days I'll be able to run a race where the wind isn't beating the tar out of me. 

Wednesday was Long Run Wednesday.  My Nike+ half marathon training plan had me running ten miles but the week before I had just upped to 9 miles for my long run and my goal here is to avoid injury.  Plus 10 miles was really really scaring me.  So yes, I chickened out a little.  But that just means 10 miles is waiting for me next week.

With my long runs I either dread them all day or look forward to them with some weird masochistic giddiness. Wednesday was a dreading day. 

That is until I got this in the mail:

My Tidewater Striders "welcoming packet"

Tidewater Striders is the local running club and I figured since I'm shelling out a small fortune to run all these races I might as well join the club.  So I did.  I was really looking forward to getting a nice, laminated membership card to keep in my wallet (Striders get discounts at a lot of local merchants), but all I got was a business card with my name handwritten on it.  Whaaa?  Am I a loser if I laminate it myself?  Answer, yes.  I also got a sticker for the back of my car and you better believe I'm gonna rock that bad boy.

So that's what I was up to the last few weeks of being absent in the cyber world.  Currently I am working on a post about the myths of what a runner is "supposed" to look like (here's a hint, I don't fit the bill).

4.15.2011 Run
Distance: 8.04 K (5 mi)
Time: 42:01:00
Pace: 8:20/mi
Calories: 601