Awesome 80's run - 5K

So today I'm going to post about me.  Yup, the mommy has some stuff going on too!  Let me start out by saying that I will be patting myself on the back during this post, because I'm so proud of myself. :)  After our move to Arizona and after things were mostly settled at home, I decided to start running.  I used this app on my phone called Couch to 5K.  It was exactly what I needed, since I was literally sitting on the couch, no exercise of any type.  I started in October, training 3 times a week for 3 months.  In December I finished the training and in January I ran my first 5K!

Here I am with my friends Christy and Megan, in our awesome 80s look!  This was such a freezing morning!  I think it was about 27 degrees.  Remember, this is Arizona, so yes, we're freezing.

And we're off!  This was so much fun!  Everyone was there to have fun and run!  I'm ready with some great tunes and feeling really excited.  My loving, supporting, adorable little family joined me early that morning, in the cold, to cheer me on.

I'm not a fast runner YET, but I am very excited about not having to stop and walk at all during the entire race.  I started out in what felt like a snail's pace, but it felt great about 20 minutes later when I was still running and passing a lot of people that sped right ahead of me at the start.  It took me about 35 minutes to finish the race, and I felt GREAT!  

When I crossed the finish line I got to see two adorable little girls screaming and cheering!  I have to admit that it was a very emotional moment for me.  I don't know how many times I had envisioned this exact moment as I trained during the last 3 months.  Going from lethargic to running was a big challenge, one that I felt like quitting on lots of times.  But then I would envision this moment, right here.  They were proud of me. I did it!

This was a hilarious run!  I met a ton of interesting people that morning!  These guys were having a blast!  I also saw Rainbow Brite, Michael Jackson, Prince, Mario and Luigi, and so many other 80s icons!  So much fun.

Check out my medal!  It's a cassette tape!  It's made of metal, but it's the coolest thing ever!  The funniest part was realizing the kids had no clue what that was.  Jeez, I'm old! 

So there you have it, my very first 5K.  Russ has been very supportive of this new interest of mine.  He's encouraging me to keep at it, and now I've just started training for a 10K.  Another 3 months maybe, and I'll be ready!

Some of the benefits of this new activity have been wonderful, such as weight loss, and no more taking blood  pressure meds!  I love it!  I hope to post some more pictures of future races in my future.

Patting myself on the back again...  I rocked it! :)