5k

So my friend Amber asked me to run in a 5k with her, with only 10 days to prepare for. Neither of us are runners but doing a 5k is something we both wanted to do and mark off of our bucket lists- so why not do it together. I really only had 5 workouts put in- by that I mean just running with some walking on the treadmill to reach the 3.10 miles. My best time was around 42 minutes on the treadmill. I started to get some knee pain so I was taking it easy and even bought a knee brace to wear.
Well the morning of the race came and the weather forecast: some showers possible later in the day and a high of 65. Not bad. So we arrive, check in, stretch and were off! Well immediately my knee brace slides all the way down to my ankle-really!? I just keep moving, cant stop now! People just take off and kind get into a good pace right away, no talking, just running. I start to hear my self labor in my breathing- not good. I tell Amber I need to put in my headphones to block the sound of myself. So we plug in our music and she takes off on a faster pace than me. I heard thunder- I thought to myself, hmm I don't remember hearing thunder in that song before. I keep running. Next song comes on, same thing- more thunder. Then out of no where lighting is all around me! We are running country roads, in a kinda residential area. More lighting, more thunder. HOLY CRAP. I then start to feel a few rain drops- OK I'm thinking, this is OK its actually cool and refreshing. Then it opens up, the rain is just coming at me in buckets, the wind is blowing, I cant see in front of me. Then hail, yes pea size hail is pelting me in the face, on the head and I just laugh. Unbelievable, my first 5k and the weather is crazy! It did make me want to run faster, especially with the rain flooding the streets and flowing through your shoes. Amber is now no where to be seen. The hail stops, the rain slows down, and I'm soaked-drenched. My pants are getting heavy and I see the end of the race, so I step up my pace and actually finish with a better time then I ever had on the treadmill- 37:32!!!
I was so proud of my finish- I mean that I actually finished!  Amber came in 2 minutes faster than me and won a medal- she took third place in our age group. Not bad for just having a baby 3 months ago. We felt so good afterwards! That an experience.

Oh, and so were thinking about doing the Thanksgiving Day 5k run...stay tuned!