This morning I went out and ran my first 5K! It was really fun and it was a really good run. I registered for it about 3 weeks ago and we got up and headed out the door by 6:30am to get there - it was in a town about 45 minutes away.
We got there about 7:20, I checked in and got my bib and ankle bracelet for timing. I was really nervous but excited at the same time! We headed over to the bathrooms, took a few pictures:
And what would a 5K in Wisconsin be without a Cow t-shirt
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Then we went to find a spot for Dan to sit with the boys. While we were walking, we ran into a neighbor of ours! I was actually not that surprised to see him, him and his wife run a lot. They had BIKED the 45 miles there to then RUN the race and then BIKE back home! They are very hardcore. But only the wife was running since her husband had an injury, so Dan had someone to sit by and talk to while we were out running, so that was nice. Kids had brought some toys and trucks to play with, so as soon as they found some dirt along the curb to play in, they were set!
Once the family was settled I went over, warmed up and stretched a bit, then made my way up to the starting line, some kids sang the Star Spangled Banner, then we were off:
The course was nice - pretty flat, kind of wound through some neighborhoods, along a short gravel trail, then down the main street in town, then back to the fairgrounds where it started/ended. I could tell I was going a bit faster than my usual runs, some people were really bookin' it - I was being passed by elderly folks and little kids all around!! But I didn't care, I just kept plugging away and passed the 1 mile mark at 9:30 minutes...I was happy. Second mile I passed at just under 20 minutes, and the last mile I did start getting tired, but just kept going, and slowed down my pace a little bit.
I rounded the corner that headed us back to the fairground, and could see the finish line. I switched my mp3 player over to my favorite running song that I listen to, and started to kick it into gear! The song I was listening to is "Let's See How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20 - love that song, and although the words to the song aren't particularly inspirational, it has great music, is very upbeat and the parts where they sing "let's see how far we've come" I find really motivating.
As I approached the finish line I could see Dan and the kids, and they were clapping and cheering for me!
So I finally made it to the finish line at 31:38, and I was SO happy to be done!!! I grabbed some water and headed over to find the family. I was greeted with hugs and high-fives!! Dan snapped this pic as I was huffing and puffing for breath!!
After I was done we hung out for a bit, got a couple pieces of bagel and I splurged on a chocolate chip cookie!!!
I figured I deserved it. They started posting the stats and I came in at number 201 out of 492 run/walkers. I was really happy with my time, it is the fastest I've run that distance before and I think pretty good for a beginning runner.
After that we headed home, Dan was very proud of me and told me over and over that he was so happy for me. I think he even started to tear up a little when he saw me finish - it was very sweet.
After all that happened earlier this year with the tumor and surgery and stuff he knew this was a big accomplishment for me and he was very happy. I feel great and so glad I did it. Here, even hours later now, I'm still grinning away.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Karen
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Congratulations, It is awesome that you completed the Couch to 5K challenge! Where did you learn about it? I would be interested as well. 
Yes, it's been a while. I was doing some scrapbooking yesterday and pulled them out to look at them and remind myself where I was at. 
the autograph book. You did an awesome job.
