5K Challenge - Complete!

One of my goals for the New Year is to enter one 5K each month this year. CHECK! 

5K #11 I actually ran a 10K on Thanksgiving. I also ran an obstacle course beach run before that so I'm finishing up this year with a 5K in December #12. It's the Reindeer Run! I'm nursing a back injury but I ran/walked it any way with a time of 35:07. Ugh! Not at all the way I wanted to finish off the year but I'm finished. I did complete what I started. I'm actually more impressed with my 10K progress this year. It wasn't a goal but it just sort of happened along the way. Who knew? What's next on my running goals? I'm going to tackle a 1/2 on February 5th. I need to start training but I need to recover from this back injury first. I'm not in the gym or running or really doing anything but resting in between therapy sessions. I'm not a fan of sitting idle but I know I have to. So CHEERS to the end of 2011. It was a great learning experience for me.

 5K #10 What great weather to finally run in! Whoo Hoo. I didn't have any pink so I ended up wearing the race shirt. It was the most crowded race I've ever had the pleasure of running in. There was a lot of weaving in and out of people. Around the 2 mile marker I sort of just started doing intervals because it was so hard to keep a steady pace. My quads hurt, my knee was hurting and my other muscles (not sure of the name) on the sides of my calves were hurting. At the end of the race my left foot was killing me. It could have been from all that running up and down the curbs to get around people. I don't know. The up and down hills were unexpected too! However, running the Kemah bridge gave me preparation for those. It's possible that I should have just took a rest day yesterday. My legs were super sore. It was a great run for weather but not for the body! Kroger was there in full force with lots of snacks! It was great. There were tons of teams all decked out with awesome names. I'm so glad I got to participate this year. Even though it was crowded it was seriously worth it for such a great cause.  My time 31:45. not my best but not too bad either.

5K #9 and still going strong. This was a race that I ran all by myself. None of my running or workout buddies were there for support, at least not physically. It was a little weird I have to be honest! I did it though. Today was the BENeezy Purple Monkey Fun Run in Alvin. It was a drive and I got lost in the dark at 6 something in the morning. lol - I made it there, I signed up, I ran it! The first mile they called out was 9:45 as my time. The second mile was 19:55. I knew I was going to too fast. Every time I get caught up in speed I die out at 2.5 - 3 miles. Sure enough my calves started to burn and I had to walk. There was a long stretch of road that was in the blazing sun. I was just begging to turn the corner to get in some shade. It was HOT! The next time that I heard was 29: something....then 31: something and I knew that I had not made any PRs today. It was disappointing! After I got home to post my time I realized that my time was faster than the last two races I've run. Guess I'll stop being so hard on myself. I'm really hoping that cooler weather will help me from dying out! I have to figure that out. Until October!

(Katina, Mo, Liz, Me)

5K #8 and counting!  Only 4 more to go before I complete my New Year's goal of one 5K per month for the year. Today's race was the Outrigger's 5K. It was very hot! My iPod got stuck right before the race. That didn't help at all. I tried to stay focused but the heat got to me. It was really hard watching all my running buddies pass me by. There was puke on the concrete and behind me more people were getting sick. That part of it was not inspiring. I had a great pace for a while but it just wasn't working and I had to begin walk/run intervals. What was really cool is the .1 of the 3.1 mile I caught some crazy wind and just sprinted to the finish line. My time was 33:46. I have to tell you that the new sports bra and dry wick tank really helped! I'm so glad I actually spent the money to invest in a few dry wick shirts. Those cotton shirts are for the birds.

(Rico, Steve, Keith, Katina, Me, Nu and Ellis)

Another 5K marked off the list! This was the 33rd Lunar Rendezvous. I'm keeping steady with my goal for the year. This was a tough race. The humidity was just awful for me. I started to really feel it by 1.5 miles but then my iPod died at 2.5 miles and so did I. In order to finish I began run/walk intervals. There wasn't a whole lot of training for this and I hadn't logged any miles since last month at the 10K. My time for this race was 32:45.3. I'm a little surprised because I did feel like I was running faster and that I had a good pace but obviously not. Oh well, until the next one!

 (Keith, Me, Nu and Steve)

 Unfortunately I have to use this 10K to count for my June race. The other race I signed up for I wasn't able to make due to pneumonia. This was my second 10K to run and my time was 1 hour and 18 minutes. You can read more of the details of this 10K race here.

 (Tif and Nu Rigby, Karen Nelson, me)

6th 5K and still meeting my once a month goal! It's May 7th and the 5K I ran today was the Sprint for Life supporting ovarian cancer. My hip didn't bother me until just short of the 2 mile marker. My music selection was Treading Tiesto 165bpm. The man at the 2 mile marker holding the stop watch called out 20 minutes! Squeals of joy!!! That means I was running 10 minute miles. I tried to get back into the race but I had to start doing run/walk intervals to finish it out because my hip was bothering me. After the 3rd mile I wanted to change up my music and the blasted iPod got stuck! I'm not sure how long I was messing with it but I took my ear phones out and just tried to finish out the race. When I saw the clock it said 32 minutes. I was a little disappointed and wished I had done better. Afterward we enjoyed all the yummy post race goodies and Nu checked my time and told me it was 31:31!!!!!!!!!!!! What???? Whoot that is a personal record for me. I'm so excited. Can't wait to see what my time will be when I don't have a stuck iPod or hip pain! I'm gonna rock it some more. Whoot!

 5th 5K so far this year but this one counts toward my once a month goal. Today April 9th we ran the Shell Strides for School fun run. My iPod was on a new MotionTraxx.com program and the bpm was pretty high. I got caught up with the crowd in the first mile and ran it in 9 minutes something seconds. That is a really fast pace for me and I knew I was in trouble for the remaining distance. After the 2 mile mark I just sort of lost it. I stopped running and had a really hard time getting my pace back. During the final stretch a very nice lady encouraged me and we ran the rest of it together. I finished 32:13. I think that is my PR so far this year. It's getting hotter and hotter though.

4th 5K and this one does count toward my goal because it's the first one in March that I ran. The race was at 2:30pm and normally they begin at 8am or some time very early in the morning. Thank goodness the weather was on our side and it was a beautiful day. I finally broke down and bought a Nike Sport Armband for my iPod. Those things are really helpful! I'm catching up with the times. I also wore my new Brooks running shoes. Whoot! My time for this race was 32:28. Can you believe it? Me either. My times are all over the place but I am improving nonetheless. Next up is my first 10K! It's Angie's Half Crazy Marathon. I'm running it as a relay race with my good friend Ellis. I have three weeks to train. Wish me luck.

3rd 5K - This is not on my list because it's the second one in the same month but I still ran/walked it. This was the Galloway Gallop Fun Run in Kemah, Texas. Not a good run for me at all and my time was 38:23, 7th place in my age division out of 10 and a pace of 12:15. All week I had a fever off and on and I didn't feel good. For some reason I could not keep a pace! It was humid and I didn't eat before I ran. Lots of things went wrong during this race but I finished. That is all.

2nd 5K on my goal list. Today I ran the Brookwood Elementary Fun Run 2011 this morning at 10am. I was really worried about this run because I knew it was all on concrete. The pounding would not be good for my leg. This was a last minute entry but I'm glad I decided to go. Frantically I was looking for my Ipod which made me run late getting there and then I found it in my purse only to have a dead battery. In my head I was sure my time would be slower because I didn't think I could make it without music. My friend Liz said, "Maybe you will have a better time?" Who knew she would so right. My time for this race was a little under 37 minutes. I'm going with 37. Whoot! This is race number two on my 5K goal. I'm already signed up later this month for Galloway Gallop Mardi Gras Fun Run -.....
  

1st 5K of the New Year! This is the one I will be participating in for the month of January. I'm not a fan of running in the cold. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm a little nervous. My calves are cramping and my shins are tender from yesterday's crossfit training session. I'm doing and taking everything that I can to make myself better. If I end up walking then so be it! I refuse to re-injure myself.
WHOOT!!!!! I ran the whole sucka with a time of 42:10. I will take it. The cold weather worked in my favor. My calves were still tender but I stretched them out and made it through. No injuries!  The trail was mostly grass and that made it more challenging but it was easier on my joints. Last year my goal was to run a whole 5K without walking. I didn't make that goal last year. However, I have to tell you that running the whole thing even though it's a slow time is one heck of a way to start out the year! I'm on cloud 9.

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