House of Hope 5K

I ran my first 5K on Saturday!  This was a big deal for me because I am was not a runner.  I've wanted to run in a 5K for a long time.  I wrote it down as a goal of mine over 2 years ago, and have had it as a New Year's Resolution for a couple of years.  Kate is a runner and does races quite often, and I finally decided to join her.  Heather and Kim joined in as well.  Kim has done a couple of other races recently, but Heather was a newbie like me.  We ran in the Kansas City House of Hope 5K, which ran through the Plaza.

I started training a little over a month before the race.  I followed a couch to 5K program that I found on-line and have been running 4 days a week for the past month.  Matt's not sure who I am at times because I ran while we were on vacation, and I've even been getting up at 5:30am twice a week to run before work (this has never happened before in my life).  Heather and I did a practice run about a week before the race - this gave us both more confidence that we could make a respectable showing at the race.

Running does not come easy for me, and I really don't enjoy it all that much (although I can tell I'm getting better at it).  BUT I can tell a difference when I work out and have found that it gives me more energy.  And it felt awesome yesterday to accomplish something I've wanted to do for a long time.  I ran the first two miles without stopping (a personal best for me), and I ran/walked the remaining mile. 

I finished 3.1 miles in 35 minutes and 32 seconds.  Avid runners (or runners with any experience) would probably chuckle at how proud I am at my time, but I know that's really good for me.  I was hoping to finish in under 45 minutes so I was really excited about that time. 

Unfornately, I was completely drained for the rest of the day!

My racin' buds - Kim, Heather, and Kate

Crossing the finish line.

Even though Kim ran the whole time, I was able to catch up to her at the end, and we finished the race together!  It was a good experience and something I hope to do again.