Sunday, August 8, 2010

Run Forest... Run!

Running... It's really a love / hate relationship. I love running when I am actually doing it, but finding the motivation to actually get up and go is often where I miss the target.
After changing my plans on which 5K to run twice I ended up running the Paws for Cause 5K. This was actually my favorite running event I have been to yet. Why? I always feel guilty when I go to a race and leave out dog at home... it just seems silly to be running and not taking the dog for some much needed exercise with me. Since this event was all about dogs Riley got to "join in the fun". He is actually such a chicken that he spent most of the time with his tail between his legs as close to us as he could be, but he definitely loved it once we started running.
This event was also the smallest race I have been to yet which was really nice. The race was an out and back course which I was afraid might be a little weird and congested with traffic going two directions, but with the low number of participants it worked out quite well.
The running challenge for B and I started last spring when B decided she wanted to run the Bolder Boulder. I decided to tag along for support and to see if I could push myself to finish a race of that magnitude. Since neither B or I had ever run a race before, we thought a 5K would be a good warm up race to get ready for the 10K. We were both very happy to finish the 5K and felt semi prepared for the 10K. After running two 5K's and one 10K I have to say the 5K is my favorite distance to run. It is just far enough to feel like I have accomplished something with out feeling like I totally got my butt kicked.
This years 5K was a big win for me. No only did I trim about 10 minutes of my time from last year, but I was able to run the entire race... start to finish. I have been totally freaking out about the 1/2 marathon I will be running on September, but finishing the 5K strong has helped to make me feel a little less freaked out.
-K