The Color Run

Last January while browsing on Pinterest I discovered The Color Run. It looked amazing!!!! I told my husband that I wanted to run it. Last January I couldn't even run 5 minutes so I looked up a good Couch-to-5k program. I started the beginning of February. The Color Run got rescheduled three times and I was worried it wasn't going to actually come. Finally the big day was here!! I trained for many months and was dressed in white and ready to get colorful! I ran with a member of my new running group and I knew my husband, kids and Mother-in-law would be waiting at the finish line for me. This wasn't my first 5k but it was the reason I started running so I feel like it was a very important race. They have a different color every kilometer or so. The first one we reached was pink. my running buddy and myself didn't get very colorful :( so we made a goal of getting more saturated at the rest of the color stations. The next station was yellow, we all looked like bananas! It was awesome. Then came orange! I must have paid extra attention to orange considering my hands were stained orange. The last color station was blue! For some reason most of the runners thought that the race was over way before you actually reached the finish line. I had to dodge people standing around taking photos. We made it to the end and I was all smiles! I did it!! I ran the Color Run without stopping. I poured blue powder (each racer was given a packet of color) on my kids after the race. We still have blue in our hair after a few washes. It was the happiest 5k I have ever done and so excited that I was able to be apart of it. I felt so good after the race was over that I decided that I have to run a 10k soon. I need to get back to my training and continue improving!  A year ago I couldn't run, now I am running a 5k with my running group! Life is pretty awesome!

No exciting title

On Sunday I went on a run with my four year old daughter. She loves to go on runs. I love pretending like I know what I am talking about and teaching her the proper way to breath and also how to pace herself so she doesn't get burnt out from going too fast. She did 2 MILES!!! I am so proud of her. I hope that we are teaching her how to enjoy exercise and that she will continue to love running. Growing up I  didn't exercise with the family regularly so I really want to ingrain activity in my kids.

Today I did a scheduled run from my 5k-to-10k app. I was suppose to run 40 minutes. To be completely honest I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it. I didn't want to go on a run today and almost just did a 20 minute because it is easier. Well I ended up doing the full 40 minutes and feeling great. Truth is, I struggle with motivation and I will be doing great but then I get stuck at only doing 2 miles or 3 miles for a few weeks. I have trouble sometimes motivating myself to go past my comfort zone. That is one reason training apps really work for me. I don't have to motivate myself to run 4 miles, I just turn on my app and stop when it tells me.

Saturday is my first meeting with my new running group!!!! We will have a meeting then a short group run afterwards. I call a short run 2 miles but I wonder what they consider to be a short run. One of the girls just ran a marathon and the another 10k and there is another training for a half marathon. Let's hope this "short" run is actually some what short!!

Back to training and new running group!

Now that race week is behind me, I can focus on getting back to my 10k training. My goal is to run 6.2 miles by Thanksgiving. Some people would just push through and run 6 miles tomorrow. Well I am not those people! I like to slowly increase my mileage and as a mother of two sometimes I can't always get out 3 times a week for a run. I am trying to set a realistic goal that I can actually achieve rather than setting myself up for failure.

I recently discovered Moms RUN This Town. It sounds awesome!!! Upon checking out this local chapter I found out some women are training for their first 5k and some just did their first marathon. I am hoping that with such a wide variety of experience that I will be able to fit in some where. The group seems very supportive and I can't wait for my first meeting (assuming I don't have to work during it).

Another 5k under my belt

Today was my second 5k. It was a little tougher than the one earlier this week but it was still really fun. I ran it with two of my friends. I love combining running with hanging out with my friends. I have another 5k in one month. This one is on flat ground and I will use the next month to get more training under my belt. The next one is The Color Run, I can't wait to frolic in tons of color. After that race I am not sure when my next one will be. I love getting deals on races so I guess I will just have to keep my eyes open and see if any appeal to me :D I am so thankful for my husband who will watch and wrangle  our kids while I am off doing all these races!!!!

First 5k...DONE!!!!

I was incredibly nervous about my first 5k. I have been training for this moment since February but it was still nerve racking. I was terrified it was going to be super small race and I was going to choke and come in last place. Thankfully the race went way better than I expected. My friend and I were passing people left and right. It was very exciting passing people. I have never ran with anyone else before so doing it in a race setting was also nerve racking. I have another 5k this Sunday which I am very excited about. Then another at the end of October. I am proud of myself for challenging myself and learning to run and enjoy it. I can't wait to continue my training for a 10k and after that my half marathon is Disneyland! I decided I want my very first half marathon to be in Disneyland so I have over a year to train for that. I am thrilled to continue gaining distance and improving my time. Also found out a friend who has been running for a few years wants to do the half marathon with me. I have a group of eight that are talking about doing the half marathon in Disneyland. Out of those eight only three currently run regularly. I really hope that the whole eight will run and that hopefully this will encourage exercise in people that currently don't do that much. YAY running!!!

One Week!

In one week I will be running my first 5k. Yeah I am a total slacker and have been running for over 6 months and just now running my first 5k. I think the race won't have very many participants but even if I am in last place I won't care. As long as I can run the whole thing that will make me happy. So next Wednesday I run a 5k then a few days later I will run another 5k. Then a month later I will run another 5k! Three 5k's in a month should make up for my lack of races the last 6 months. I had a great run this morning and feel really proud of all that I have been able to do. Some people can't run a mile but I can run more than three miles! I feel pretty awesome!

Another Evening Run

Yesterday while my awesome husband was making dinner I went for a short run. It was only my second evening run ever but this one felt better than the first. I have two weeks exactly until my 5k so I need to keep up the evening runs so I won't die in the heat or the awkward running time for me. Tomorrow I plan to run in the morning (yay morning). I have to make sure I feel comfortable with the distance. After reviewing my running habits the last few weeks I discovered that I am slacking! The last few weeks I only get two runs in a week and sometimes only one. No wonder I haven't done well with adding additional miles on each run. I am trying to focus on making sure the 5k will be comfortable then I will start adding lots of miles. I have another 5k at the end of October but that one isn't timed and all about fun. So while I will still be running and trying to increase my milage that one doesn't seem stressful. It is amazing how actually signing up for a race will keep you motivated and actually get you out the door to train.