St. Patricks Day 5k!

I did it!  

My first race post pregnancy. :) 

I ran it in 38.58. Not bad at all! 

Going into it I was expecting to run it in around 47 minutes. Figuring I had been doing all my runs during the week at 13-14 minute pace I was really surprised when I looked at my watch a mile into it and saw that I was running at an 11 minute pace.

I was moving along just fine until around mile 2 when my legs started telling me that they were getting really tired. So, I stopped and walked about a quarter of a mile and then started running again. I felt good while running and realized a few things....

I was talking to my little brother the other day and I told him that 5ks weren't doing it for me anymore and that the half was my favorite distance. Well....boy was I wrong. 5ks are exactly what I need right now. My mind said 5ks were too easy, but my body was saying otherwise. I keep forgetting that I just had a baby. I've recovered so quickly that I forget that I did take 9 months off of running and I'm not in the same shape I was before. 

The good thing about all of that though is I haven't lost as much of my running ability as I thought I did. The fact that I was able to do 2 of the 3 miles in under a 12:30 pace is awesome. I mean, like Adam pointed out, I did run it faster than a lot of my races in 2009. I'm not starting from scratch like I did then.

All in all I feel really good about my race. Sure, I didn't run the whole thing and that's ok. But, I did run it and I ran it with all that I had. 

I was having a little bit of a hard time before the race started. I was getting pictures of myself all dressed and ready to go and I just kept seeing this big girl with this big belly. I was starting to get really frustrated and self conscious about it all. That's when I had to be reminded that I did just give birth not too long ago. I'm no Angelina Jolie or Mel Roggia (my sis-in-law). I don't look like I did before I got pregnant right after I gave birth. My body's not built that way. That's ok, my body is different. I have to work hard to lose weight. So, with saying that I'm going to really start WW this weekend. (It's not really working doing it on my own.) I have to go to the meetings and stuff. To do the best that I can do I need to put in 100%. I need to track everything and I need to follow the plan. Like my dad always says, "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance." If I don't want a poor performance for my half I'm going to need to plan and I'm going to need to work that plan and not take any short cuts.

I know that in the end it will be worth it. I will be a better person. A better wife, mother, daughter, and friend. Plus, it's a MILLION times easier to run not carrying an extra 50 lbs. 

Now that I have my next months training plan, I'm going to work extra hard on my eating plan. With the two together I'm hoping to do even better on my next 5k, the Salt Lake City Marathon 5k. Wish me luck!!

Now, I need to go ice my legs, my calf muscles are begging for some love. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!