I ran my first 10k!

 On Saturday, I did the Run for the Warriors 10k  here in Jacksonville, nc.

Right up until I crossed the start line, I was a nervous mess. But I tried really hard to keep thinking like it was a normal run and I did great. I paced myself at a 10 minute a mile pace. I was pretty much right on the whole time. It was an easy run for me. (I can't believe that I'm saying that!) My breathing was perfect, nothing ached, no cramps. Well, at the 5 mile mark, I thought my toes were probably blistering.. and they were.. but that's nothing too bad. At no point was I thinking, "Gosh, I need to stop." I just kept trucking along.

The route was great. It was through a residential area and people were outside their homes watching. A lot of people had Patriotic music blaring and sprinklers on full blast so you could run though them. It was so nice to see such a great community of support. And what better cause than Wounded Worriers?

My official time was- 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 26 seconds. I was pretty darn happy with that. And very proud of myself.  As you'll see in the pictures, I hauled ass about the last half mile, finishing strong.

I think I'll be signing up for a few more 10k's this year before I try and tackle a half.

Best ever!

The other day, I ran 7.3 miles with my Vibrams! Yep, 7.3! I am obviously pretty darn proud of myself considering I started out only thinking Id do 3. After the 3.2 mile mark, I felt I should at least do 4. After that, I just kind of kept running. My breathing has been so perfect lately, that no amount of pain in my shins or feet can even stop me. When I'm finished running, I have blisters and can barely walk. (Tiger Balm works wonders for those sore muscles guys!) But since my breathing is so great, I just feel that as long as my legs keep working, I'll keep running. Kind of a mind over matter thing I guess.

Here is my route:

Hmm, wonder if that re sizes when you click on it? Probably not. It took me forever just to try and  figure out how to do the darn print screen thing. I'm too lazy to try and re size it now.

Anyway, It's been two days since my run. My Mother in law moved into her own house so it's been kind of difficult to get out there and run. And you all know how I feel about the treadmill. So I'm hoping to be able to go tomorrow night. I'll make myself do a lesser amount of mileage so I don't end up hurting myself. Then I'll probably only have about 2-3 more runs before the race. I also want to go down to the actual race route and run that once, too.. so we'll see..

I'm progressing in huge strides. I really don't think I could get this kind of run with my Asics. I truly believe that my Vibrams are what's making me progress so well.

If you haven't gotten a pair yet, what are you waiting for?!