Run With The Nuns

The name itself was enough to get me to sign up!

This morning, I ran my 2nd 5K. It was at beautiful War Memorial Park in Bay Pines, which is about 20 minutes away from my apartment in St. Petersburg.

Such a beautiful setting for a run. Roughly 2 miles of it was paved, while a section went through a trail through the woods. As the name indicates, the park was made to honor war veterans, so flags, plaques, and other things were there dedicated to former soldiers.

The run itself was fairly solid. I felt great for a mile, but when I heard my time at mile 1, I knew I had come out too strong. By mile 2 I was just about done. I had to take 2 quick walk breaks at about 2.2-2.3 and 2.7-2.8. But by the end, I was able to push it and had a strong finish.

Time : 32:12

I think it's a good thing that I'm slightly disappointed with this. It will continue to motivate me to keep going. The time is somewhat decent, but the fact I had to stop running a couple times is a little frustrating. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have taken that month off after the last race and over the holidays. Oh well - at least that won't happen this time around - my friend found a recreational running club in Tampa that I will be starting with, and my next race is Feb. 19th, so I can't really afford to take a long break after this one. Plus, with intramural basketball, volleyball, and badminton, I should be staying pretty active.

The coolest part about the race is the NUN! There is a woman dressed in a nun outfit that rides around on a bike cheering people on. And not just cheering. Singing! The first time we crossed paths, she was belting out "You Raise Me Up!" She made the experience amazing! It was fun talking to her for a few minutes after the race.

My last thought is about how close the running community is. I realized it as I was watching the little award ceremony at the end, but the majority of the people that ran stayed about an hour after the finish to cheer on those that did exceptionally well. There were so many conversations happening. I talked to a couple people and we exchanged brief recollections of our race. Everyone celebrated each other's PR's. It was so refreshing! Even as someone who is new to running in races, I instantly felt connected to all these other people. From the old man who said he trained half of the people that won their age groups even though he had no idea who they were. To the 10 year old kid that beat my time by 8 minutes. To the 70ish old lady that kept pace with me for most of the race. To the hot girl that I passed toward the end. To the badass tattooed guy that finished top 3 overall.

Such a close-knit and inspirational community that I am glad to now say I am a part of.

Such an inspiring group - this old man was top 3 for 70-74. The tattooed man first place overall. Woman in the pink with the visor's 2 kids won top 3 for their age group. Man in yellow's 2 kids were 2nd & 3rd in 10 & under. Surrounded by awesomeness.

5,000 Reasons to Smile

Last night, I ran my first 5K race ever.

In my neighborhood, they have an annual Jingle Bell Run, which starts at the St. Petersburg Pier, goes most of the way to my apartment, then back to the pier.

It started a little rocky. I was trying to find a place to stash the bag I brought, until luckily my friend Rachel agreed to take it while she was walking. As it was starting.

So I started running, but the first half mile consisted of weaving in and out of walkers, dogs, strollers, kids, people standing, etc. aaahhh! Not the most enjoyable experience of my life.

Once I could finally get going, it was fun. SO many people, but the atmosphere was great! There were bands playing Christmas music along the entire way (I would have appreciated it more if I didn't have my headphones blaring), everyone was dressed up in Christmas outfits. I had no idea that there were that many jingle bells on the entire planet.

At 1-1.5 I started to feel sluggish. I didn't think I could do it. Dodging people was exhausting. At 1.5-2 I started to catch a little bit of a second wind. 2-2.5 was a blast. 25-3 was all adrenaline and not quitting.

The best part was seeing Caitlin, Monica, Justin, and Amma waiting at the finish line. Gave them high fives (Justin actually gave me 2 high fives!) and crossed the finish line!

Total Distance: 3.26 miles

Total Time: 29:45

Pace: 9:07/mile

My legs actually felt amazing, I just have to work on endurance... oh well.

First race-

DONE!

Thanks to Angela, Kyle, Jenna, Doug, Julia, Becca, Rachel, Juliann, Amma, Justin, Caitlin, and Monica for making this a truly amazing night!

Now, I look to the future- I'm down 25 lbs (even though it's not that noticeable yet...) so I will keep rocking that.

I plan on running a race every month next semester (and maybe all year depending on where I end up).

Many more good things to come...

...one step at a time