I Ran

It was hard - but I expected it to be :) I'll write a recap after I
fuel the caffeine tank.

Race Report
Updated at 5:30PM
The race started at 11:00AM, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I dont even remember my old pre-race strategy, and those were usually in the morning. My current morning routine consists of hanging out with Brooke and going to Starbucks for a latte & scone when she says it's time. So this morning, no latte, no scone. We actually still went to Starbucks, and I got an oatmeal. It was seriously painful not to get my latte :( To add to my pain, it was supposed to be 34 degrees today, and it was only 24 degrees. And windy. And dreary. I was nervous as heck.

So despite the 11:00AM start time, I didnt leave my house until after 10:45, and I'm more than a short drive from the race start. I got there as fast as I can and crossed the start line about 5 minutes after the race start. I was pretty much running by myself as everyone else had a huge chunk of a start ahead of me. I set my watch to do a 5:1 interval, thinking I would run 5 minutes and walk 1. Since I havent run at all since the Wacky 5K, which took place on March 3 of last year...I knew that running would be a challenge.

Mile 1 I finished at 11:08. This actually was much faster than I wanted to run, since I walked for a minute of that mile. I tried to slow it down for mile 2 and finished that mile in about 12 minutes. Mile 1 was challenging on my lungs and legs. I had a hard time getting my breathing together and making my legs feel fluid. Mile 2 felt more natural, but I was getting tired already. By mile 3 the 5:1 went out of the window. It was more like 3:3 ;) I finished that mile in about 14 minutes and was never happier to see a finish line in my life.

Now I am actually a bit sore. My legs are tired and tight (as I was late, I didnt get to stretch at all. Yes, I am that stupid) and my lungs hurt from the cold air. While it was challenging, it really wasnt any worse than I expected. I mean, for a person who hasnt ran in almost a year or done any sort of exercise in over 3 months, what can you expect?

I did this run mostly to get myself back in the mental game for 2009. I'm not sure what my New Year's resoulutions are yet, but they for sure include some sort of re-entry into the world of physical fitness.