Mardi Gras 5k

Jennifer, Mitzie, Amy M, Me, Amy S
Lisa, Rhonda, Wendy

My best friend from high school (Amy S) is training to run a half marathon. To help her prepare and to keep herself motivated, she is running several races in the Dallas area. After talking to her I decided I would give running a try so, I recruited a friend from our ABF (Amy M) as a running buddy. Then Mitzie and Jennifer joined the team and we decided to train together three times a week to prepare us for the Mardi Gras 5k. We had three weeks to prepare so we had Kevin, our ABF teacher, come out to the track one night to coach us. My last preparation for the big day involved shopping! My dear friend Kristin went with me to pick up race packets and to help me pick out new shoes at the Run On store on Mockingbird in Dallas. I won't divuldge the $$$ spent, just know that if you go to Run On, it's not cheap! One of these days, Kristin will join our little running group! Right Kristin....Right! ;)

So, on February 21st I ran my first 5k! There were eight of us who registered for the race: my sister Wendy, her friend Rhonda, My high school friend Amy S, her friend Lisa, me and my three training buddies, Amy M, Mitzie and Jennifer. I was so proud of all of us but my sister blew us all away. She actually got the 3rd place trophy in our age group. Her time we 24.20 and Jennifer wasn't that far behind her at 28 minutes. I was just thankful to run the entire time without stopping and was hoping to finish in 40 minutes or so. When I crossed the finish line I didn't even think to look at my watch or the time clock. My priority was recovery and water! Turns out my time was 32.58 which was great for me considering I had never actually run a complete 3 miles before!

Wendy, Mom and Me
Mom was there for moral support and to take pictures. She is now trying to run as long and as fast as us! Keep it up Mom...just don't hurt yourself! :)

So now, I am addicted to running. I'm still running with my ABF buddies and we're trying to add more friends to our running group. I've even taken KK to the track and she's practically run circles around us. Maybe one day, we can do a mother-daughter 5k!

Amy S joins us on Saturdays and yesterday I was able to keep up with her most of the time. She finished a few minutes before me at the race so my goal is to try and keep up with her at the next race. Yes...we're doing another 5k on March 14th! It's the St. Paddy's Day 5k - Dash Down Greenville. Woo-hoo! My goal is to finish at 32.57 or less! :)

Me and my sister Wendy with her trophy!