My First 5K!

Saturday April 17 I accomplished a goal, that really, I never thought I could do. My cousin Tara and I started going to the gym in January. In February we decided to start doing this running program, that was supposed to get you to be able to run for 30 mins straight. At the time we were both kind of like " yeah we'll see" but then the more we kept running, the better we felt. So we signed up to do the Salt Lake 5K. The above picture was on Thursday night after we went and picked up our shirts and number for the race.

This is race day at about 5:45 in the morning! Karson had kept me up from 1:45-3:00 am! I was still tired, but also nervous, so I didn't feel that tired. Just anxious mostly!

Tara and I waiting to start! We were both nervous, our stomachs were in knots! I have never claimed to be a runner, so this was a HUGE deal for me to be doing this. It may seem like a small thing to some people, but to me it was a big deal.

Tyler took this picture, I thought it captured the beginning of the race well. I was so nervous, starting off, but I had Rhiana's song "Please Don't Stop the Music" blaring and it helped get me going. Once I rounded the uphill corner at the start of the race, and got going at a good pace, I felt pretty good. I will say the last 1.5 miles were much easier for me than the first 1.6, at the halfway point they gave us some water, and then we started the trek UP HILL towards the capital for almost 1 mile! It was insane! But I am happy to say it didn't kill me, and I was able to do it!

This picture is out of order, but after the race my dad took us to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast! I have always wanted to go there and it was SO yummy! I got an omelet with bacon, avocado, salsa and jack cheese! YUM!

This is me finishing I don't know if you can see me, but I have my hands up waving to Tyler and the kids, it was such an awesome feeling for me to finish feeling good. I had goose bumps and I was on the verge of tears. I did cry when I saw Tyler and my dad after it was over and gave them hugs. After you cross the finish line, they make you walk through this area where there are bathrooms and all of these people are handing you stuff, bananas, powerade, chocolate milk, apples, cookies, it was a really fun atmosphere! People that you don't even know handing you stuff, telling you good job giving you high fives! It was an amazing sense of accomplishment, to know that yes, I can do that, and I did it. I finished in 39.58 which is the fastest I have ever done it. My pace was 12:52 a mile, which is very good for me. One day I hope to be able to do a 10 minute mile. I was in the middle over all and in the middle of the females as well, which I was very happy with.

After the race! I want to say a special Thank You, to Tara for helping me achieve this goal, she was a great motivator and it helped me a lot! I also wanted to say a special Thank You to Tyler! Thank you SO MUCH for your support, and allowing me to go to the gym, and coming to support me so bright and early in the morning with the kids. I love you so much, thank you for loving me no matter what!

5k...done. 10K......coming up next.....