5K ....CHECK

On March 19th, 2011, I ran my first 5k. 3.1 miles. :)

I was never a runner. I would see girls on my college campus running and get so mad/jealous. I have really bad knees from dancing/winter guard. I could never run without pain or them giving out on me = me being on crutches for 2-3 weeks.

My husband loves to run and really wanted to run in the Los Angeles Marathon. It made me sad that I couldn't do the marathon with him so, why not the 5K?

I started training with small goals, 1. I will run on this treadmill through an entire song on my ipod etc etc etc. (as previously stated in another post)

My goals for the race were A. RUN/Jog the whole thing..even if I'm moving at a snails pace I want my feet to never walk, B. Finish under 40 minutes.

Well, the morning came and it was FREEZING! I wore a jacket and pants (pic 1) to keep myself warm. When it was times to line up I stripped to my shorts and World Vision Running shirt (our organization my husband and I support and raise funds for ) I had goosebumps all over! I hoped they would get this thing started soon!

I met another world vision runner, who is an avid runner, and tried to keep pace with him for the first mile. On the first hill he took off!

So.. I just blasted my ipod and tried to enjoy the scenery. The first mile went by very quick....somewhere around 2.01 miles we had a HUGE hill.. I was thinking I HAVEN"T EVEN WALKED UP A HILL THIS BAD EXCEPT ON OUR MOUNTAIN HIKES. I turned up my ipod up a little louder and just thought..run...run...run...I felt like throwing up but thank goodness the water Gods were there with a cup for me..lol

at mile 2.8 We had another HUGE hill, this one was the worst, I've driven up it before and knew it was coming so....I paced myself and jogged the slowest I had all race up the hill. That was the worst. I started getting a little pain in my side but I kept thinking I can do it..push..push..

We rounded a corner and I knew I was almost done, I replayed my "hard core" music selection again "Untouched- Veronica's, Someone that you're with- Nickleback and Misery Business-paramore"... my 3 power songs that have a very fast tempo and usually are my push songs that I play when I'm getting tired or feel like stopping.

 I saw I had one more hill to climb to reach the parking lot of Dodger's Stadium. I looked over and saw my husband with my "Go Lori "sign he made for me... he said "you're almost there just over the top!" I smiled and pushed... at the top of the hill I saw the finish line at the end of the parking lot.. I ran... ..once I got to the sea of people I SPRINTED to the end...People we're cheering and the MC yelled GO TEAM WORLD VISION! It was amazing. As I crossed I threw my arms up in victory, It wasn't a marathon but, I did it. I AM a RUNNER! I placed that medal around my neck gladly.

I ended up finishing at 31 minutes and 8 seconds. = about a 10 minute mile. It wasn't a great time..but it was under 40, which is fine for me.. and.. I jogged the whole time..:)

Next Goal- Run a Half Marathon