My Second 5K!

Yesterday I participated in my second 5K race. My best friend's school that she works at was having a 5K to raise some money. My friend is an amazing runner and she's been wanting me to run a race with her for a long time. Here was my chance.

A few people from my gym came along too which was great. I was very nervous though. More than I was last time. There was only about 80 people doing the race and I had a feeling that I was going to be last. Everyone else looked in much better shape than me.

Plus my friends that were there are all really good runners and have been doing this since high school. That didn't really help my self esteem. But I shrugged those feelings away and realized that at least I'm doing this race! This time last year there was no way I would have been able to!!

Off we went on the race. They said the course was flat, but they lied. It was pretty hilly!! Also the way it was set up, you had to loop around a few times. It was pretty discouraging to see all my friends pass me on their way back! But I kept pushing forward. Two of my gym buddies stayed with me thankfully, which really kept me going!

By the third mile I was dragging. I wanted to walk it in so bad. There were people stationed along the way with water and to tell you where to go. One of them made a nasty comment to me about how a dog nearby was running faster than me!! WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!! At least I was running the race!! Why would someone even say that to me! Ugh I was so mad!!

Then all of a sudden my best friend came running toward me and ran with me the whole way in!! Seeing her come after me to cheer me on was amazing. It really pepped me up and gave me enough energy to push through and finish strong!

I finished in 37:56. Almost two full minutes off my last 5K!! Which I couldn't believe. I felt awful during most of the race, I had no idea that I was doing so much better pace wise!!

I ended up finishing 3rd to last, but at least it wasn't last!! I'm very happy with my time and at how much I have been improving with running. One day I know I'll get under 35 minutes and be able to run the whole thing!

After the race my friend had a BBQ at her house. It was nice to hang out with my friends and eat some yummy food!! My friend finished 3rd overall, and her boyfriend won the race! I need to start running with them more often! lol