My first 5K - Thanksgiving Day!!

I guess this is what I have been leading up to in the last 10 months!!  90 pounds later and thousands of miles walked and then started to jog....I finally entered my 1st 5K race!!  I don't think I've ever liked running.  I only remember running in Jr High for gym because I had to, otherwise I don't remember ever saying to myself, "I should run" or "I love to run".  But over the last 10 months I have learned to appreciate running (which in Lois speak means jogging).  And when I was really stressed a few months ago Alan said, "Lois why don't you go run" which I did, and I was surprised at how much better I felt when I was done!  The first 1/2 mile is the hardest.  I try to talk myself into quit running all through that first 1/2 mile but if I get past that, then I am home free!!  It was really fun to plan to do this as a family!  With John, Allison, and Alan.  Alan walked it which was quite an accomplishment as well!!  Charlotte slept though the whole thing!  I guess she was too warm and comfy.  It was a blistering cold morning, but once the sun came out it wasn't so bad especially since  by then I was warm from running!!

Getting ready for the race!!!

I ran back to meet Alan once we saw him headed toward the finish and John, Allison, and Charlotte waited cheering at the finish line!!  It made all the difference to have someone cheering for you at the finish line!!  John and Charlotte cheered Allison and I across the finish!!  And we all joke that Charlotte actually finished the race first at John was pushing her in front of him!!

 

The last mile or mile and a half, Allison ran back to run with me, and I must admit she did help me keep going.  Some personal bests on this race.  Usually I run 3 miles in 43-41 minutes.  But when I hit the 3 mile mark I had run it in 38 minutes.  I'm really proud of that and I finished the race in 41 minutes.  And when I hit the 1 mile mark I was going a pace of 5.0 miles per hr, which I new was way too fast for me to actually be able to keep running through the whole race....so I slowed down!  But still some fun new marks for me!!

After we went to IHOP for breakfast!  It was yummy!  And a fun way to start the day!

Funny story:  Just recently I went "running" with Allison and Charlotte.  Which as I already explained means jogging and some days a very slow jog and maybe not that perceptible to others - case in point -

Conversation between Allison and I while out walking/jogging:

Allison: Mom don't you want to run?

Mom: I am running dear!

Allison: Oh, Ok.  Lol!!