The weather outside is *frightful*, friends!
Central Ohio has been slapped silly by snowflakes, harsh winds, and plummeting temperatures.
Anyone fancy an outdoor 5K?
This recap may be a little boring for some, but I just have to write these memories down! The weekend was too awesome to forget!
To start, we had a guest speaker, Chad Dedmon, and his wife at our church this weekend. Friday night was the first session. Chad shared the story of the horse, Secretariat. In short, Secretariat won the Triple Crown in the 1970's. He easily won the first two races (considered speed races), but was not expected to win the third race (considered an endurance race). Not only did Secretariat WIN the third race, he broke a speed record that remains unbeaten today. He ran each mile of the race faster than the previous miles. Years later, after dying of natural causes, it was discovered that Secretariat had a heart size that was more than double a normal horse heart. Chad prayed that we would run with speed and endurance; and that our hearts would be enlarged.
You can imagine that I was sitting in my seat FREAKING OUT at the story. Of course God would send me a clear message about running the evening before my first 5K. Why not??? Ha ha!
Saturday morning I woke up WAY TOO EARLY, too excited to sleep any longer. After stalking the weather reports all week long, I knew there was a threat of the first snow of the season. Clothing dilemma ensued. (I'll spare you the details of my clothing trials. You're welcome.) Once all critical clothing decisions were made, my parents and I packed up and headed to the race!
I wanted to get there early because HELLO, DO YOU KNOW ME AT ALL? Also, I wanted to check out the Vendor Expo. I was hoping for some really sweet SWAG, such as this
GPS watch. Well, darn the stupid recession, because never in my life have I seen a sadder Expo. Unless you consider an awesome Expo to be brochures, handouts, and stickers. Then this Expo was pretty comparable.
After the disappointment wore off, I decided it was time to suit up. Thankfully, my Mom snapped some photos of my Dad and I.
My fellow reindeer started arriving, and we snapped a few last minute pictures. Then, it was time to line up!
The energy at the line-up was so fun. There was music, Ohio State chants, and the energy was palpable. I suddenly realized that I hadn't stretched at all, so I tried to throw a few lunges in at the last minute!!
After what seemed like an eternity, the race started! I felt awesome at the start, trying to be careful of not setting a pace that I couldn't maintain. I settled in, and hoped for the best!
When we reached mile 1, I could hardly believe it - my first mile was just over 10 minutes!!! I have NEVER run a mile that quickly! We did a quick victory yell, and set in for mile 2. This is normally where I start mentally breaking down. I'll tell you, running with friends is the best way to beat your mental game. We were laughing, talking, and having a great time! While I wasn't always able to talk (that would be because I was running like the wind!), it was so great to have support around me.
Mile 2 gave up the chase, and mile 3 came faster than I expected. I was still maintaining my pace, and my time was just over 21 minutes. Say WHAT?? There were a few people on the sidewalks cheering us on, which was really fun. I would really love to have my own personal cheering section for all my runs! One small side note, I believe it was during mile 2 that my sweet friend Joy decided to call her Dad. While running this 5K. She is an animal! Only Joy would make phone calls during a run! Ha ha!
Mile 3 was awesome, and I started thinking, "Oh my gosh, I am really going to do this!!!" It was such a cool feeling! We cheered even louder, knowing the finish line was upon us in just a few minutes.
Making that final turn for the .1 mile was the BEST FEELING EVER. Our group of 6 reindeer, 1 elf, and 1 Santa gathered together to finish as a group. I could have cried. I grabbed for my Dad's hand, and ran for the finish! It was the best feeling to cross that finish line - 2 minutes ahead of my personal best!!!!
After the race, we headed to Bob Evans where we devoured our breakfast like we had just run a marathon. It was so awesome to sit among friends and celebrate our success! I was overwhelmed with emotions at one point, thinking how good I have it. My 58 year-old Dad ran this race with me. My best friends ran this race with me. What an incredible blessing to have these people in my life! I am honored to be running the race of life with them.
As I write this, I am already searching for the next race. I have the running bug! I will have more pictures to post very soon! Thanks for all the well-wishes - my blog buddies are awesome!
