Tap N' Run 4k - June 8th 2013

First off, this post took me forever to write because the laptop has passed on. So without further ado, and only over a month late, here is my story about one crazy 4k.

      For those of you who have never heard of this race let  me explain it and its awesomeness. It is a costume race with beer chugging stations at the start, two during the course, and at the finish. People are typically on a team for this race so I was on a two person team of myself and my boyfriend. We went with a Star Wars theme. Team name: Millennium Falcon Me: Princess Leia Boyfriend: Luke

                                                           My attempt at side honey-buns

      It was fun to see all the different costumes, and since there was a beer chugging station at the start we had plenty of time to look because the beginning was slow moving.

Who needs a carrot when there's beer?

    Finally we got to start running. It was hot and I was wearing pants but we were having fun. We did get stopped at a couple red lights by local PD which I personally thought threw off my running groove, but who am I to go against safety and traffic flow? There was a team running near us that were all dressed up as super heroes, but one team member had broken their ankle so they pushed him in a cart. It was funny and sweet.

                                               

    The guy pushing was Iron Man, the guy in cart was Thor (there was a short shorts award at the race, Iron Man wanted to win)

    The beer at the second chug station (first during running course) was quite tasty. It was by Goose island and called Honkers Ale. The next beer at the chug station...not so yummy in my opinion. The course was in downtown Indy and we got to run by Lucas Oil Stadium which was pretty cool to see so close. One day I will make my way inside. A funny sidenote, people were leaning out their car windows asking us what the hell we were doing. :) The last half mile was a little tough on the boyfriend, seeing as he never runs...ever, I thought he did a good job and we kept moving along. Finally we reached the finish line and received our medals, which double as a bottle cap opener, and waited in the long line for our final beer. 

                                                              Both of us after the race

    We stayed for part of the award ceremony which included best burp, best real mustache, best fake mustache, and best costume. Unfortunately due to the loss of the laptop I lost pictures I took during the ceremony. I'm hoping you can imagine how funny it was. We eventually got really hungry, due to it being a dinner time race, and ate at a nearby restaurant. All in all I had tons of fun at this race. Next year I will sign up early and be in the officially times wave so I don't have to wait as long at the start or finish.  

Run Like a Girl Virtual Race-May 6th

         If you have the opportunity to do a virtual race I strongly recommend it. We still got a medal but we got to run when it was convenient for us. This particular race is part one of a four part race series that supports Girls on the Run which provides a community for young girls that supports a healthy lifestyle. With childhood obesity in this country being so high it is one of the many things that I am excited to support.
         I was fortunate enough to have my very good friend run with me so we talked pretty much the whole time. We ran at Iroquois Park in Louisville Kentucky which is extraordinarily hilly but also very shaded by trees. Paige was nervous because she doesn't normally run but she did a great job!

                                                          Paige after the "Finish Line"

                                                        Myself after the "Finish Line"
We ran a 5k and posted our "Finish Line" pictures onto facebook to confirm that we ran our race. Afterwords we took some quick pictures of us with our medals.

Such cute medals!

                                                                   Our course map

Lots of races coming up this year, some serious and some silly!

Finish Line 500 Festival 5k May 4

      Above is some of the cool stuff I either purchased at the expo or I received for running (I can not find my participant shirt sadly). I had a wonderful time at the expo, I tried all kinds of protein and energy products that I actually ended up enjoying and will purchase in the future. I also bought all kinds of goodies including Sweaty Bands, shirts, and a much needed cell phone arm band holder. 

      The night before the race we walked around Downtown Indianapolis, exploring shops and of course had to stop for some yummy frozen yogurt. I had to be at the start line earlier than the half marathoners so my lovely friends agreed to get up early with me and walk me to the start line. Dawn even let me borrow a pair of Pro-compression socks which not were not just awesome but also my favorite color. I was really nervous to be running in such a big race even though I was only running a 5k. I guess the thought of being around so many people who were such fast runners intimidated me. 

Me, Sarah, and Dawn at the 5k corral

         After they headed to their own corrals I stood in my corral trying to pump myself up and carefully stretch without kicking anyone (it was a little crowded in the corral). Finally we were off and I was really hoping to beat my previous time. Getting started in this race was horrible, you heard me HORRIBLE. So many of the participants were walkers so I tried to bob and weave between them but at times i felt i was moving horizontally instead of forward. I ended up following other runners lead and going off the road to go around the walker maze that had been created. When I finished Mile 1 i was shocked to see the clock time was already at 13 minutes. How was I going to beat my previous time with Mile 1 being the slowest mile I had ever run in a 5k? The next two miles were much better, I was past the walkers and tried to speed up. The course took us past the Indianapolis Zoo which was cool. One day I will have to actually go inside. 

Crossing the finish line

          Unfortunately I did not beat my previous time and I will admit I allowed myself to get grumpy about it. I also did not get to enjoy the post race festivities because I had to go straight to work. While all and all it was not personally a great race experience it was really nice to see so many runners who were perfect strangers encouraging each other. Maybe next year I will be doing the half marathon...

We've Got Your Back 5k 4/27

This post is a bit late but they did not have our shirts at the race and said that they were in the mail so I was waiting until I got the shirt to write about the race, however the shirt is still not here so let me tell you about the race.

This race was an impromptu race, I signed up four days before race day. When I arrived I was really nervous and made the goal for myself to get under 30 minutes. I got my shoe timer tag and they talked about how the Spine Group specializes in helping people with rare back disorders and the proceeds from the race were going towards a cure for quadriplegics, which I thought was a really cool cause. They led us in a pre race warm up which I thought was really nice.

I tried to stay with people so I could keep a good pace but they would either rush off into the distance  or they would walk so I spent most of the race running alone. I felt really good mile 1 and 2, but at mile 3 I started to mentally defeat myself and slowed down but kept running. I crossed the finish line at 29:45, cutting it pretty close but it always feels great to accomplish a goal.

After crossing the finish line they cut my shoe tag and I got water and a granola bar and received my fancy bag and a pair of socks as a condolence that our shirts were not there (problem with the printer) I then made my way to cupcake van, not the healthiest choice I know but I don't have cupcakes at home and them temptation was to much :)

Giveaway link from therushingherd

I entered in this awesome giveaway with lots of goodies for runners, you should too!

http://rushingherd.blogspot.com/2013/02/run-like-girl-be-strong-giveaway.html?m=1

Short Insight

I was encouraged to start a blog that would chronicle my journey to getting back into shape with running and eating healthy. In high school I was very involved in sports such as soccer, track and swimming and in college I basically did nothing but walk the crazy hills from my dorm to classes. Last June I did Rugged Maniac with my Dad and had a blast and it sparked an interest to do other cool events like it. I did Color Me Rad in March, will be doing the Indy 500 5k in May, a virtual race in May, all to begin the long journey to run my FIRST half marathon in August. Join me in my journey to getting back in shape and my goal of running a 13.1 mile race.