Well, it's official - I've ran my first 5k!
Brian and I returned Sunday from Joliet, IL where we ran in the Midwest Warrior Dash. We went down with two other couples (friends of mine from Mothers & More) and had an absolute BLAST!! Here are some of my favorite pics from race day.
Pre-Race Pics:
The before shot... (l to r = Brian, Me, Katie Baker, Dave Baker, Christine Flott, Chuck Flott)
Post Race Pics:
Christine (the lovely lady who introduced me to this wacky race) and her luscious turkey leg and her husband, Chuck. Good people.
The "craziest costume" contest...this is just a MODEST sampling of what we saw...
WARRIORS!!!
Honestly, I was so worked up about this race. I knew I wasn't ready physically and I really thought I'd be surrounded by a bunch of hardcore runners who were all in better shape than me, faster than me and might just smack me for walking (see shirt on above runner). But there were people there of all shapes and sizes, all ages, all fitness levels...I didn't even come close to finishing last. I had a absolute BLAST on the obstacles (and think I kicked some butt on them, if I do say so myself) - check out the course map to see exactly what we endured. And the running part wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
My final time was 42:51, but that doesn't even matter (though it was well under my "secret" goal of finishing under 1 hour). I am just so glad that I got outside of my comfort zone, said "YES!" when Christine asked for someone to do the race with her. I'm also so thankful to have gotten the opportunity to run the race with Brian (thanks to Kyle who stepped up to watch the kids at the last minute so Brian and I could BOTH run the race). He was so supportive and stuck right by my side the entire time. And, for the record, he's the one who fell on his butt and ended up with a big gash on his knee, not me. "Go Big or Go Home" is what he always says, and even being forced to slow down to wait for his out of shape wife didn't keep him from having a great time.
So thank you, guys, for going on this crazy journey with me.
Christine, thanks for finding this thing and suggesting it to the group. It was awesome to do it with you and your hilarious husband, Chuck. You guys kept me smiling on the course and laughing hysterically after the race was done.
Thanks, also, to The Bakers, who clearly got into the spirit of the Dash with amazing outfits and equally amazing attitudes about the race. It was great hanging out with you guys!
Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me in the months leading up to the race, even when I was whining and being a big baby about the whole thing. Turns out I'm stronger than I thought! Who knew?
Thanks, again, to my BFF, Kyle - it was such a relief to not have to worry about the kids and to know that not only were they in great hands, but likely having WAY more fun with Aunt Kyle than they ever have with mom and dad.
And thanks to my husband who never once made me feel badly about my pace, pushed me when I needed to be pushed, backed off when I needed to slow down and kept me laughing and smiling for 3.1 miles. I know you're proud of me and that means so much.
And lastly, thank you to the Academy...
...Oh, wait. That's a different speech....
I'll shut up now.
Later!!
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