Happy 11th Anniversary - Let's Run a 5K!!!

I woke up this morning, the day of my 11th anniversary, thinking, "How do I let myself get talked into these things???"

Mike and I agreed to run our first 5K with some friends today.  For some reason, I was very lazy about "training" for it, running exactly once last week and twice this week.  I haven't consistently jogged in months.  Don't get me wrong; I've exercised, just not on a treadmill.

Before the race...don't I look THRILLED to be there?

My mom brought the kids down to watch the race, which thrilled them to death.  Seeing everyone in their cute little running skorts, my mom offered to buy me an outfit.  Don't I look like I totally run all the time?

How cute are my excited kids???

The race was called "The Skirt Chaser," in honor of Valentine's Day.  The girls started first, then the guys took off 3 minutes later, "chasing" us.  Cute, right?

After the first mile, I keep looking back for Mike.  He took his training seriously...he's been gearing up for this for two months and was determined to finish in under 30 minutes.

After the second mile, it occurred to me to look ahead for Mike.  Sure enough, he was about 20 yards further than me...and he didn't even say, "hi" when he passed me!  So I kicked it into high gear and sprinted to catch up with him.  He became aware that I was next to him when I whacked him on the head with my water bottle.

I had sweet visions of running together in stride for a few minutes, until I realized that I couldn't breathe after sprinting so fast.  Immediately after hearing the, "I'm so sorry I didn't see you, I must be in a zone" speech, I finally had to take it down to a walk so I could inhale and exhale at a normal rate.

We're still waiting for our exact running times to be emailed to us, but Mike finished in almost exactly 30 minutes. (We're thinking a little less, but he's really proud of himself and I'm SO proud of him!)

Mike crossing the finish line.

I finished in 33 minutes plus some...yet to be determined.  Toward the end, I found my mom and the kids on the side and waved furiously at them, not realizing that this was the picture my mom would capture as I crossed the finish line.  Cheesy?  Yes.  A great memory?  Oh, absolutely!

Me crossing the finish line. (clearly, I was more aware of the camera than my husband)

My sweet kids were such troopers.  They were armed with their pom poms and screaming shouts of encouragement.  Today was the warmest day we've had in months...it was 78 and felt like 90 in the sun.  Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but having my new running shirt instead of the heavy t-shirt I intended to wear was a life saver.

One of my supportive fans with her pom pom.

After the race, there was a live band, free Chipotle burritos and a beer garden.  We also found a booth giving free chair massages...I wish I had the guts to talk them into a foot massage!  My dogs were barkin'...

I thought I was worn out and sore afterward?  HA!  I can barely move my fingers to type right now, let alone get up from the chair.

This was our group.  Julie's husband was injured, so her friend Pam ran with her instead.  We had so much fun hanging out afterward like grown ups!!!

We had fun.  A lot of fun.  Mike is so excited to do this again next year and is already thinking of who we can invite to join us.  I can see why people like to run races...it was such a great experience!!!