Happy (late) Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you all had a terrific holiday with family and friends! 

I survived my two exams today! Now five more to go in 3 weeks and I'll finally be freeeeeee! 

I made a quick trip home Wednesday afternoon, studied until dinner time, and had dinner with my family. On Thanksgiving morning, I had my big race! That's right - 6 WHOLE MILES! (6.2, to be exact!)

When I woke up for the race, it was COLD. Like 19 degrees cold. I layered up accordingly and then my aunt drove me downtown to meet up with some other people we knew who would be running. 

Eventually I made it to the start line and I was ready to get this thing over with! I love training for races and I love signing up for them but I'm never very excited once I get there (really, just waking up early is rough!) 

Ready to go!

The race began with a healthy hill followed by a pretty flat stretch. Speaking of hills - that is the BIGGEST difference between Indianapolis and Cincinnati - it's so hilly in Cincy! I definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of hills and bridges that I encountered. In the future, when I start doing my training runs again I'm going to seek out some less flat courses around here...

As far as how the race went, I knew I would be able to finish because of my run last week (at least mentally) but I wasn't anticipating all those darn hills! I started to struggle probably around mile 4.5-5. I started to get those thoughts about walking. (But I didn't give in!) Surprisingly, my foot didn't hurt me much at all the entire time. I had a twinge or two of pain here and there but I was fine throughout the race.

One BIG problem I noticed is that my GPS on my phone is WAYYYY off. I used the RunKeeper app for this race and at the end it said I had run 7.18 miles (at a 9:38 minute/mile pace). Imagine my surprise when I thought I had almost reached my goal and still had another mile to go! GRRRR...anyone know how to fix this or calibrate the GPS? 

 Going into the race, I really didn't have a specific timing goal in mind - I just wanted to finish and not walk! I ended up running it in 1:09:07 - 11:09 mi/min which is right on par with my last 5K (11 min mile). Slow and steady, right?  I was pretty sore after the race - mostly my left foot. It never seems to bother me until about 30 minutes after a run. This time it was my ankle that didn't want to bend for about 2-3 days - just very stiff and painful. Not sure what's up but I'm hoping I can rest it for a few days and then start strengthening it again.

Nick & my aunt met me at the finish! 

The rest of turkey day proceeded as usual - Nick and I ate with my family for lunch and then we went to his family Thanksgiving for dinner. I'm glad I ran to make up for having two meals!

 Other than getting to see friends and family, it was nice to take a little break from studying and be a "real" person again. I didn't allow myself to study at all on Thursday...not that it took much to persuade me otherwise. Plus, there really wasn't time. We will soon see whether that was good idea or not in a few days when I get my grades back...

Everyone knows the best part of Thanksgiving are the leftovers!  Stuffing balls are a family favorite!

So what's next?

Now that my first 10K race is over, it begs the question: What next? For starters, it's back to eating clean and really focusing on weight loss after the holidays. Right now I'm just trying to maintain my weight and get through these last few weeks of the semester. After the New Year, I start MINI MARATHON training. I've decided I'm going to join a running group here in Indy so I will have people to train with - specifically the long run portion. Just like with studying, I don't really need someone to "talk" to while I run but it helps to have someone THERE. It can be really lonely and unmotivating to plug along on your own - especially when I starting getting up there in the mileage. 

I have to admit - I'm really scared about this goal! I was scared about the 5K and the 10K but there's something that seems really "elite" and intimidating about running 13 miles. And 26 miles. (although I have a hard time picturing myself EVER running 26.2 miles). At the same time, it just seems really bad-ass! I know I'm not fast or particularly athletic but I feel like I've finally found a sport that I can keep improving in and strengthen myself in many different areas. I've found something that I enjoy and that no one has to push me to do - unlike all the other things I've ever done (softball, soccer, basketball, etc.). I actually want to keep improving and getting better

May 4, 2014 is the next BIG date I'm shooting towards (Nick's birthday and followed soon after by an ever bigger date - June 13, 2014!) A few of my bridesmaids might even run it with me which I'm uber excited about!!!

Stay tuned and don't forget to meet back here on Wednesday for another Weigh In Wednesday (guessing I gained after exam week pizza and Thanksgiving!). 

Hey Popsicles!

Today I'm linking up with Kristine @ Heart Shaped Sweat for her virtual 5K.  She is just plain awesome and so inspiring! Go check her out, along with the other 5K participants!

You can read my blog post about my experience here.  This was my first official 5K. I don't count The Color Run or a local 5K I did in college. I didn't train or run those.  

I ended up with a time of 36:58 which was under my goal of 40:00 minutes. My pace was about 11:56 which included about 35% walking, 65% running - I didn't run the whole thing but that's my next goal.  Hopefully by my next race I can get under 11:30 min and run the whole time.  Small progress!

I was nervous before...so awkward selfie is warranted.

One reason I was able to get in under my original goals was because of my music and adrenaline!  I started out wayyyy too fast and burnt out despite all the advice I read about not doing that... 

Here's the playlist I used!  Some oldies and some goodies since I like a little mix of everything.  Kiss You by One Direction is my power song.  I don't know why...it just makes me run faster!  

There's one song on here that you probably don't recognize.  This Is Indiana.  Shameless plug for my school...how can you watch this and not be an IU fan? 

I decided to make a new goal.  I'm going to run a race once a month for the rest of the year!  Here is my tentative plan.  If you will be running any of these or have other suggestions, let me know!  I'm so excited :)

These dates/races are subject to change. I tried to schedule around my exam schedule but a few of these occur right before or right after an exam so I may have to switch things around. I at least want to get a few more 5Ks in and definitely the Thanksgiving Day Race.  The rest will be extra!

So I guess you can say my first 5K experience was very positive since I want to keep going. Even though I'll probably never be some elite runner, I know I have a new hobby just for me that doesn't involve Netflix or copious amounts of glitter.

I'm only putting this up to prove I was there...I look disgusting. Sweaty gross hurr

I wasn't all that athletic growing up (hand-eye coordination is a foreign concept for me) so running and working out make me feel like an athlete.  I can train for something and actually see progress, even though I'm just in the beginning stages.

Who am I kidding, though?  I just want the T-Shirt...