Twilighter 5K

Last night was the Crystal City Twilighter 5K, and I'm happy to say that overall I thought it went really well.

Here's a shot of me with Shelby and Rebecca before the race-

It's fuzzy, and we're standing in front of porta-johns, but the other two pictures are ... awful. There isn't any other way to say it. Shelby suggested we make a funny pose, and somehow that translated into flexing our muscles. I LOOK LIKE A FREAKING GARGANTUAN. You will not be seeing that picture. Such is my life as a big girl. Ho hum. So instead you get fuzzy johns. Feel the love.

As we walked around to warm up, I admitted to both of them that in every running event of my life thus far, I enter a period of doubt and wonderment. "Why am I doing this?" "I am not having fun." "Are people here seriously having fun, or do they just not really know how to have fun?" "Not one part of me is enjoying myself right now." "This is so not me. Next time I'm spending $35 to get my nails done." They laughed, partly agreed, and we went about our way.

The race itself started well. My knee felt funny for the first two minutes or so - it didn't hurt, it just felt slightly different than usual. After the initial start though everything was fine. Woohoo! Then, just after passing the one-mile mark, I started to have a weird overall feeling. For anyone not experiencing the heat these days, just know that it's been hot. HOT hot. As Rob said recently, it's been Africa hot. Listening to the advice from friends and loved ones, I drank lots of water before the race. Lots. Too much. Passing mile one I suddenly had the sensation that there was a real possibility I would throw up water everywhere, or that I needed to pee, or both. I got a little light headed (probably more driven by the panic that set in considering either of those options) and decided to walk for a bit as a preventative measure.

Another factor in the decision was my heartrate. Typically I've found that I can run for a while between 160-165, but that I can't go too far much beyond that range. Last night I kept finding myself around 180-184. The weeks of taking it easy have had their impact. In any event, I'd promised my husband that I would walk for part of the race (he asked for two-thirds, I conceded with about five minutes - three the first time and two after the two-mile mark) so even walking was taken in stride. Really I was just so happy to be there participating that I don't know if it would have mattered if I'd walked the whole thing. We also got to see Mary Ellen and her friend just after crossing the finish line, which was a double bonus. It was definitely a "more the merrier" moment.

Here's a photo taken after the race. Keep in mind that while we were really sweaty, we also took advantage of the wet sponges and misters to cool off.

Our treat? Chips and margaritas on the way home. Before getting into bed, I realized during the 5K I never once questioned what possessed me to register. I don't know if it was confessing my thoughts to them first, or if I actually did enjoy myself, but saints be praised I may have just had fun.

Totally unrelated (because for anyone who knows me that's how I operate), I have noticed a few things since my last post through conversations with friends.

#1 - While I have time to write on a Friday night, most of you aren't reading. Your lives are therefore obviously more exciting and action packed than mine.

#2 - I never did a good job explaining that there is a separate Mama Gets Moving Facebook page. I did that for a couple of reasons. The primary goal was to create a space that was focused on positive, healthy choices for anyone interested to share articles, blogs, good vibes, personal successes, etc. I also thought that some of my Facebook friends might start to feel like they'd had enough of me and my exercise kick and could then opt out of the day-to-day musings about the year, and then on top of all of that, I wanted to have a place to invite ANYONE to join me in this endeavor - whether I know them personally right now or not. So... "Like" it if you want to. :-)

#3 - I am really touched by how many of you are reading. It fills me up like a warm fuzzy attack. You rock.