Hope you're ready for some sweaty selfies

As I've said before, I'm no runner. But I will also say again, that there is such a feeling of accomplishment after finishing a race or setting a new PR. That's what I felt when I ran the virtual 5K hosted by Kristine last week.

When I first read about her idea, I was skeptical. Virtual 5k? Would there be prizes? Do we have to do it at a certain time? But this was nothing like that. It was more about being healthy, and starting summer off on the right foot (no pun intended) with a 5k "race." There would be no winner, no times, no competition. Just you and 50 other people running because you wanted to. So when I signed up for the race, I hadn't been doing any kind of real running. I usually do RPM or spin for cardio in the gym, but would get in some time on the treadmill, too. So I started actually running in May.

Sweaty sellfies after running ar the best.

I decided to just runt through my neighborhood, since it was almost exactly 3.1 miles.

 

The course wasn't too hard, though it was pretty hilly. It didn't get bad until the end though, that last one before the finish was a doozie. But I made sure I had some good music going and I'm a Survivor by Destiny's Child came on right as I was going up that hill. Perfect song for finishing a race.

 



Derek happily woke up at 6 a.m. to take a picture of me afterward. Not.

I'm really just proud of myself for actually getting out there and doing it, let alone beating my goal time! My goal was 35:00 minutes and I finished roughly around 33:15 which was great considering I didn't touch asphalt for over a week until a few days before the race due to some knee problems. The thing I missed the most was having people cheer me on. That is literally my favorite thing about races, the people on the side lines telling you to keep going, you're almost there! Make my heart smile x100. When people you don't even know are cheering you on, you kinda have to give it your all.

I'm really glad I signed up for this race, it's taught me a lot about running for me and pushing my own boundaries and I definitely plan on keeping up with my "real running" instead of just running in the gym after a work out, because I can tell the difference. I also have a few more 5k's I'm planning on signing up for, and if you follow me on twitter, your read that I signed up for a Triathlon this fall. I'm so so excited for it!

I can't wait to read everyone else's race day posts!