The Reinbold Family

Aidan and the Color Run Unicorn. At first he loved it, but then when we went back to get a picture, he was scared and started to cry!

On Friday, I went over to Sport's Authority to pick up my race packet. From the way things were set up, and the volunteers working there, I could already tell it was going to be a blast. I text my friend Megan that was doing the race with me, and told her how excited I was getting.

Me and my girl Megan

We did it!

Finish Line Baby!

The only clean spot was under my wrist band.

My feet even got color! It must have seeped through the mesh on my running shoes!

I was right though, it was a BLAST.
I am so glad I decided to go out of my comfort zone and run this with my friend!

Before (I was happy, I promise)

I am finally getting around to posting about my first 5K! (Over a month later).

Saturday May 11th, I woke up around 7:30 AM, and immediately went downstairs to eat breakfast. I had toast and raisin bran. (Hind sight, that probably wasn't the best idea, but luckily I had no issues). I wanted to make sure I drank some water, but not too much because I didn't want to have to pee during the run.

I woke Ryan up when I started to get ready, and I wound up waiting for him because for some reason he felt the need to shower and get ready. LOL

We took his car because mine was over heating, and got to the rec center about 8:45 or so.

I wanted to be at the end of the line because I don't do well with crowds. I didn't want to get smooshed in between a bunch of people, so I hung towards the back.

Ryan waited in line with me and then when they announced the start, we all took off! He was going to go get coffee and something to eat while I was running, so he headed back to the car. When I was up on the first bend of the trail, I saw him drive by and we waved at each other.

I was walking at a fast pace because I wanted to warm up, and then I started running, and running fast. The adrenaline took over and I pushed myself hard. That was a mistake, because I wasn't breathing in my normal run breathing, I was panting and I could feel in in my chest. So, I slowed down and eventually walked for a few minutes.

Right after I walked up the first steep hill, I had to stop and take off my shoe because there was a rock or something in it. I didn't want to stop, but I knew I couldn't do the whol

I decided before I even started that I was going to do the following: not compare myself to anyone else, not look back, and enjoy myself. I saw so many people on the trail that looked miserable. I didn't want to be one of those people. I don't run because I HAVE to, I run because I want to, and I enjoy it. Just because I was being timed, didn't mean that I was going to enjoy it any less.

Almost 9 AM. Everyone starts lining up.

Before, feeling a tiny bit nervous

Here we go!

Almost to mile 2 and time to turn around

All in all, it was a good race. It was fun, and I liked knowing that I was pushing myself. I definitely walked more than I had planned, but my left hip was hurting really bad, and even though I stretched, I didn't warm up as much as I would have liked. At one point I thought 'This is hard. What am I doing?! I'm so slow!' Then, this song came on, and it gave me the little push I needed to keep going. It even made me get a little choked up.

As I mentioned, I walked a lot more than I planned or even wanted to, but I wanted to finish that sucker running, and I did. When I saw Ryan waiting for me, I got tears in my eyes. I don't know why, but I was just so happy to see him, proud of myself for finishing, and glad it was over.

What did I learn? That I can do things that are hard. I can finish something that I start. I am capable of more than I think. I am a runner.

Will I do it again? A.b.s.o.l.u.t.e.l.y. I am signed up for the Color Run this Sunday! I signed up with a friend, so it should be super fun.

Any rookie advice?

Make a play list of upbeat, high intensity songs. I wasted so much energy changing songs on my phone to find a good one, and it seemed to slow me down.
Use an armband to hold phone/iPod or use a clip on iPod. I couldn't find my armband, so I held my phone the whole time. Talk about annoying!
Use DND on iPhone. I kept getting emails and it would distract me and mess up my music. Plus, it was just irritating.
Warm up and warm up well before starting.
Explain to your husband/SO/friend/picture taker, exactly what you want them to take pictures of. I was approaching the finish line and he took ONE picture. And it wasn't even AT the finish line yet! (I love you honey). I would have liked a couple more pictures, especially one of me crossing the actual finish line.

See me there? See?

Don't look back. I didn't want to see who was getting close to me, or how ~~many~~ few people were behind me.
Have fun!
Sign up for the race with someone. I didn't necessarily want to run with anyone, because I knew I would be slow, but just being there with someone would have helped me feel more comfortable. Ryan was there with me, but he wasn't running, so it just wasn't the same.
Realize that there may be children and/or dogs on the trail. I personally found it annoying that I had to keep dodging little ones and sporadic dogs, but I guess that's a norm I didn't know about. Especially on shorter/fun type runs.
Wear sunscreen and dress in layers. I forgot the sunscreen for my face, and the sun was out enough, that I definitely needed it. The shirts they gave us were super nice, light weight, but I did get hot a few times, and wished I could take my shirt off. I guess I could have, but trust me, no one wants to see that!
Don't get your hopes up for a medal. ;) This race only gave out medals for the top runners, and I was a little disappointed. I wanted something to show for it, dang it! Oh, well. I have my bib.

^Same picture^ just zoomed in a little bit.
Not the most flattering picture, but eh, who cares?

As we were headed home, I called Ivie and she said, "Good job Mommy. I'm proud of you." Best.words.ever! Later that night Ryan told me he was proud of me too. It felt so good! I said I was going to do something and I did!

On to the next one!