St. Helen 5K Race

Saturday was a busy day for me.  I woke up bright and early because me and the hubby had a 5K scheduled at a 9 am start time.  The 5K was for St. Helen's church.  When we arrived, it was a lot smaller than we expected.  We have only ran one other 5K together and that was last year.  That 5K had a lot more people, but I didn't seem to mind the small crowd for this 5K (less people that actually had to see me run!)  The other minor detail that both of us overlooked was the course.  Our first 5K was very hilly, so I was looking forward to running a flat race, but I was severely mistaken.  The course could have been one for a cross country high school race.  We started out on a trail in a forest and then ended up rounding an apple orchard and then going through the same forest again.  It was brutal and the whole time I kept thinking why did my husband sign me up for this!?  Danny is a faster racer than I am, so he was ahead of me from the beginning.  Whenever I run, I'm always in the zone, with my music and my pace that I don't pay attention to anything else.  Well, I guess after the first mile, Danny pulled his hamstring and was sitting on the sidelines and I ran right past him and didn't even notice him.  The kicker was after I finished I was so annoyed with the fact that he wasn't there to greet me at the finish line that I walked to our car and waited for him to be done with his warm downs (I had assumed).  Danny came a few minutes after and asked why I wasn't there at the finish line for him (this is why we are the same person sometimes).  I was shocked when he told me that he got hurt and that he was behind me since I hadn't seen him.  After our mixup, we just laughed about the whole situation and how we thought the exact same thing.

It was a fun morning, but it definitely was the hardest 3.1 miles I've ever run.

Danny getting ready for the race

Danny and I before the race

I was so amazed with the course, I had to take a "running" picture of it to show you.
This was the apple orchard.  Very beautiful, but not runner friendly.

#NOtivation: Workout Buddy

I'm off work today because of the holiday this week.  I normally don't work Thursdays so I can take a normal work day off to make up for the Fourth this weekend.  I'm linking up to cure #NOtivation.

My biggest piece of advice for #NOtivation (lack of motivation) is to surround yourself with people that have the same goals or friends/family that will do it with you.  I always end up trying to start a healthy workout regime by creating a plan for myself.  I've noticed throughout the last year or so that it is always better to have that encouragement from someone else.  For me, my biggest encourangement has been my husband.  The activity we most enjoy is running.  Last year we ran our first 5K together and this year we've signed up for a few more races together.  Although sometimes its hard running with Danny (because he is more of a sprinter and I like to take my time), he always encourages me to do my best.  Matter of fact, our first 5K together he did just that and got me my fastest mile!

Our First 5K

If Danny won't do it with me, like for example when I wanted to join a Zumba class last year, I roped in my good friend, Ashleigh.  It was the perfect excuse to see her every week and we made each other accoutable for going to Zumba class.

If you're staring a new workout regime, try to get someone else to do it with you! It will encourage you to stick with it and make the activity more enjoyable.

Half Marathon

Danny and I signed up for our first half marathon!! I am very excited since this is one of my bucket list items before I turn the big 3-0.  I haven't run seriously since before the wedding, but I'm hoping to fall into a routine again.  I am so lucky to have a supportive husband that is willing to do something like this with me! He encouraged me to start running when we first met.  I had never liked it since I never thought I was good at it, but ever since we started running to get in shape for the wedding, I've discovered I can do it.  When I achieve my goals, it is worth the pain that it takes to get to that point.  I can't wait for this new endeavor and to achieve the new goal I set out for myself! 121 days, here we go!