Friday, June 10, 2011

Red Dirt Run 5k

At the veteran's memorial

I haven't posted about running since last summer! My running has changed quite a bit since moving down to Oklahoma. In Chicago, I would run on the lakefront path and see a pack of other runners who were also out running, and I would soak in the city skyline and the lake next to me. Then, we moved down to OK and I started going out for some morning country runs around my in-law's neighborhood. It was quiet, peaceful, and a nice change from a city run.
It wasn't long before I met another mom at library's story time, and saw her again at MOPS (Mother's of Pre-Schoolers). She was looking for a gym partner; someone to run with her at 5:30 in the morning at least twice a week. It seemed daunting, but I was up for the challenge!! We started running at 4 minutes on, 1 minute off. We had another friend with us until her membership expired. After that, we got pretty serious. We started on the treadmills and got up to running about 4 miles. So we decided we should find a 5k to run together. We found one on Memorial Day Weekend, so we ran and trained about 3 months before we ran it. About 2 weeks before the race, we ran several times outside the YMCA and my friend, Kirsten, clocked the 3.1 miles we needed to run in town.
Kirsten's daughter, Alexis, and Maddy

The morning of the race, it was a little chilly, but it soon warmed up and was pretty humid. It wasn't bad, though. Kirsten did good and was ahead of me the whole time, but I had to keep my slow and steady pace to finish without stopping! Kirsten actually finished 3rd in her age group, and I finished 17th in my age group. I got 2 minutes faster than last year, and was glad I ran the whole thing without stopping!
At the finish line!!

So we are still running together in the mornings. We will still workout and continue running and maybe, who knows, run a race with a further distance!!
Not only are Kirsten and I running partners, but we have become good friends. We ended up moving a couple blocks away from them shortly after we started running. I didn't even know where they lived and then we figured out how close we were! It has been nice to get to know someone who lives close, has a daughter the same age as Maddy, and who loves God. We have gotten to know each other pretty fast during our workouts together, and it has been nice to have the accountability!!
Some spectators: Kirsten's kids, my kids, and my sis-in-law, Lydia, who so graciously got up that early to watch my run!!
Thanks, Lydia!!
My supportive family!!

We'll see if I will be able to run outside in this Oklahoma summer heat!!

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