TR 5K

Yesterday was the most windy day ever! Ever!! I can see out the window from my second floor cubicle at work, so I can see the very tops of the trees outside. They were thrashing back and forth all day. The sun was hidden behind dark gray clouds. In just a few hours, my two co-workers and I had to go out there and run a 5K. I was excited to run, but not excited about the weather.

The three of us changed into our shorts in a second floor bathroom. We walked as fast as we could out to the start line because you stick out like a sore thumb dressed in running clothes at work. When we got outside, we were blasted by the wind. My hat almost flew off. We had goosebumps instantly. Specks of dirt hit us in the legs. One of us decided to wear a fancy running skirt and she was starting to regret it. These were not exactly ideal running conditions.



N, L and myself

 The run started and it was fun. The sun came out, too! L ran fast and beat N and I by a few minutes. We were jealous of her, but N and I were content to run our pace at the same time. We discussed work, our weekends, our running routines and I snapped a few pictures of the path all while dodging the fuzzy caterpillars all over the running path. To finish the 5K, we had to do three loops of one path and one loop of a smaller path that falls inside that bigger loop. Don't worry... we didn't get dizzy. Half of each loop was against the wind and the other half was with it (obviously). You can guess which half of the loop we liked better.

On our third lap around the big loop, N and I walked for a minute or two to just allow ourselves to catch our breathe. Part of me wanted to just quit all together. My legs felt heavy, my lungs burned, my eyes were watering from the wind. N was a great encourager though. This run really made me feel like a loser, but N kept us going. I hate having great runs like I had with my husband a few days ago, which was 4 miles and faster, and then having a run like this 3 miler that went so horribly bad. I guess you have your good days and bad days. And after all, this run was for a good cause (all the money donated by the runners/walkers was given to a charity). I'm glad I decided to finish because when N and I got to the finish line, L was there cheering us on and took a photo of us crossing the line. We gave her two big thumbs up and she kindly posted it to Facebook immediately.

The 10K is tomorrow and I'm still very much looking forward to it. It just better not be windy!