Red, White and Blue Shoes 5k

So, it's taken me a long time to write this post but that's just because I've been doing this:

yes, I am THAT sexy

So back to the review... I LOVE THIS RACE

1. It's at Furman University which is absolutely gorgeous. If you've never seen it, here is a pic of the campus:

source

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2. It was probably the flattest course I've run in a while. I train downtown and it is hilly, hilly, hilly, hilly... So the one hill towards the end was a piece of cake

3. I totally PR'ed. I ran it in 27:53 (according to my Garmin) which is fast for me and exciting because I've been trying to get faster over the past few months. The official time was 28 something but it was a gun start so i'm going with my Garmin... Woot woot!! I read so many blogs where their times are like, 22 min, 25 min, etc etc. I don't know if I'll ever be there but to be reaching a goal of mine which is 27 minutes, I feel pretty good about it. 

4. This was Go Run's goal race which means new people ran their first 5k. And then some PR'ed their first 5k. I love working with new runners because seeing people accomplish something they didn't think they could is very rewarding. 

A few pics from the race:

that's my mom with the Go Run shirt on!! This was her second 5k, plus she's done an 8k and a 10k. She's also signed up for the RnR Savannah Half Marathon!!

One of our leaders, Holly Di Giovine in the back 

Our other Go Run leader, Melissa, and our endurance group leader, Nova Robb

Woot Woot Denise!! She's signed up for the RnR Savannah Marathon - but she's no newbie, she's done a marathon before 

Helen - she ran the Candlelight 5k with me 2 weeks ago (in the GO Run shirt)

I'm the tall one :). Mom's to my right and Helen is to the far left

Holly (in white) and Melissa (in the sassy glasses) created Go Run and made an awesome beginner 5k program. I'm using Holly's marathon training program for the RnR Savannah this year. Nova (with the visor) leads our endurance training group, Val (white shirt at the bottom of the pic) is a triathlete who completed her first half ironman earlier this year leads the Go Run group in Greer and I'm beside Holly. I lead the Wednesday morning speed group. 

Fun, fast race.. definitely doing it next year... 

I'm in Love...

with these two

My stepdaughters Neely (12) and Jesse (10)

Last night, we did this:

on the

It was fun. Happy 4th!!

Long Run - kinda...

Well, saturday was supposed to be a long run. I was going to do the Red, White and Blue shoes 5k and then run another lap around the course. I was excited about my PR, talk about that later, but did not feel like running another 3. So instead, I talked and talked and talked and avoided looking for Holly Di Giovine (which is who I was supposed to run with) and insured that I wouldn't be running :)

But knew I had to make it up which leads me to today. I'm at the beach, Myrtle to be exact, and I woke up on my own at 6:45 am to run, no alarm clock. I was just ready to get it over with so I guess my body was letting me know we weren't oversleeping. I put on my clothes, grabbed my Garmin, and started running. I didn't know where to go because I'm not familiar with this part of the beach so that's why I'm glad I had my trusty watch.

The first part of the run was nice, i started slow because I wanted to make sure I didn't poop out. The first 3 miles went quickly and I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was in a zone and nothing could stop me. Then I started to struggle, mainly because 1) it was hot 2) I was thirsty 3) I had to go to the bathroom and 4) I was hungry. I ran another mile pretty well but then mile 5 and 6 were odd, I had to walk, blah blah.

Here is the biggest difference from other runs where I've struggled, I didn't care. I don't mean that in a bad way like, i don't care about my training... I meant, I didn't have any expectations and i was okay with however it turned out. I hate when I go for a run and it doesn't turn out the way I plan and then I get mad at myself. Why do I judge myself so harshly when I don't run at my expected pace? I think sometimes, I feel slow already so when I do a long run and I'm not at my best, it makes me feel bad about something that already is slow. But I'm getting to a place in my training where I am realizing that it is what it is. And my pace is my pace. I can't help that it's not faster and just like I tell my friends or new runners that it's about being healthy and not about time, I should follow that same advice.

So today was nice because I could enjoy a not so perfect run and know that I just finished my third week of marathon training and I have 17 more weeks.

p.s. I am officially on day 3 of the fitabs challenge and I have done 100 each day... BAM!

Do you ever beat yourself up about your training?