My first 5k - Rachael's Paws and Purrs

I did it! I did my very first 5k! 

Ok I definitely didn't run the whole thing, most people didn't...but I completed a 5k! 

Pre-race smile in the chilly morning. Still felt fairly confident at this point!

And we're off! Runners first, run/walker combos in the middle (that was us) and walkers in the back.

Speaking of walkers...who's excited for The Walking Dead to come back on in October?! This girl!

The course was on the Blackwater Creek Trail in downtown Lynchburg. It was a beautiful day with no humidity and cool temperatures on this gorgeous trail hiding just next to the busy downtown life.

"Quick, act like you're running hardcore!" 

The bridge over the water was so pretty! Here's another "action" shot. That's my husband and a friend of mine in the picture. 

We ran a handful of times but none of us were fully prepared to run the entire thing. We power walked the rest of the time. Most importantly we had a great time! It was so much fun and all the pups that came had a great time too. 

Most of the finishers waiting for the last walkers.

Giving out trophies and medals to human winners and dog winners! Not to mention they had great prizes for the raffle portion!

Here's us as we were leaving. I'd like to title this photo "We finished!" but I think "Look at this mondo bag of fruit we got!" fits better. They had tons of food leftover and just told us to take it...so we did! We've got enough bananas and apples to last a couple weeks! Runner up title: "Oh joy the sun is right in my eyes."

And I'll call this one "We did it! Now let's celebrate with some Chic-Fil-A."

Up next...the Ashland Berry Farm Pumpkin Run that benefits the Hanover Safe Place! Saturday, October 5th in Hanover, Virginia. Come join me!! 

I'm thinking to keep myself motivated and to have a new goal always ready, that signing up for one 5k a month might be a good idea. Or insane? I haven't decided yet. 

We're deciding on our November 5k now. It's between the Glowstick 5k on Sunday, November 3rd in Fredericksburg, Bottom to Tap 5k on Saturday, November 9th in Richmond or the Children of Our Hearts 5k on Saturday, November 9th in Lynchburg. 

I couldn't find any nearby 5ks for December, though. Too cold?

Tell me about your first 5k! If you've never done one, what's holding you back? If I can do it, so can you! Know of any good Richmond/central Virginia 5ks? What's the most fun 5k to do?

Till next time,

Catherine

Couch to 5k - Week 4

Yowza.

That's all I can really say about Week 4 of the Couch to 5k program.

Now to be totally honest, I'm not the most out of shape person but I'm definitely no athlete. I've always been overweight but have always been used to hard work. My teenage years (and then some) were spent throwing hay and scooping poop at the barn. So I can keep up with hard work.

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Running, though...is a different story.

And it always has been. I've always thought it was the coolest thing to be able to run but always relented to the fact that I "wasn't a born runner," "didn't have the drive to run," and "couldn't become a runner." This past couple of years I've become really determined to change that. Who says I should listen to those detrimental voices telling me "You can't do it."?! Not anymore. Even if takes me an entire year to be able to run a 5k, I'm committed this time.

Though I hope I can do it by my second 5k on October 5th! (A month from the date of this post.)

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Later this week I'll try and write a more in depth post about the Couch to 5k program and my experiences with it so far. But for now I wanted to publicly declare that running will NOT get the best of me and it will be one thing I conquer.

And if I can do it...so can you!!!

Let's encourage each other and reach our goals!

What's your favorite motivational quote? How do you push through eating healthy/working out when you plain old just don't feel like it? What are your weight loss/health goals? Share with us! 

Till next time,
Catherine

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Ok so the envelope has been signed and sealed but it will be delivered soon!

What's in the envelope you ask?

The registration forms and payment for my very first 5k run ever! Not only that, but there's a form for my husband in there too!!

For those of you who know me, this is a big deal. I'm by NO means a runner. Yet, for some reason I want to be! I figured a 5k is a good, attainable goal to start with!

Last year, I wanted to run in this race because it benefits a local charity that I really believe in. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. My husband and I had tried starting the Couch to 5k program multiple times but had never gotten very far. So, the race came and went and we didn't go.

Recently I was talking with a good friend of mine about running a 5k. This friend has lost a LOT of weight and completely changed her life around in the past couple of years. She's a beautiful person who has inspired me to work harder to achieve my goals. She's stuck it out through all of the hard work, sweat and tears that come along for the ride when trying to lose weight and get healthy. She's truly an inspiration and I'm so proud of how far she's come!

So we were chatting about those fun color runs that come to town but there didn't seem to be enough time to fully train for one so she suggested a local run called The Hanover Safe Place Pumpkin Run at The Ashland Berry Farm in Beaverdam, Virginia. Beaverdam is the country North of Richmond. And yes it's as country as it sounds. The Hanover Safe Place is a wonderful organization that provides services to victims of domestic violence. I'm more than happy to donate to a worthy cause.

The Pumpkin Run will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2013. I figured if I started a 5k program now and stuck with it, I may be able to run the entire thing. Including this current week (2nd full week in August) it gives me 8 weeks. The iPhone 5k app I have is a 9 week program and the one Brian has is a 7 week program. I suppose we'll get there between the two! Plus, running it with a friend will make it more enjoyable! I'm not sure if Brian will run this one with me or not, though. 

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So then at work I saw a flier for Rachael's Paws and Purrs 5k & 10k race! I knew immediately I had to do this one too especially since I missed out last year. 

The catch?

It's on Saturday, September 14, 2013. That's exactly one month from today. Only 4 weeks. Yikes!! What am I thinking???

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I'm thinking I need to stop making excuses and sign up so that I can't quit training and sit on the couch instead. 

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After our run tonight I filled out the registration forms, wrote the check and sealed the envelope. No going back. Even if I don't run the entire thing, I'm going to at least do my best!

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Rachael's Paws and Purrs 5k & 10k will benefit The Rachael Horton Compassionate Care Fund. RHCCF was started by Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Forest, Virginia after one of their dearly loved employees and her husband died in a tragic house fire. Rachael Horton would use her own hard earned money to help clients that couldn't afford life-saving treatments for their pets. RHCCF was founded to continue her work.

As you can imagine, I'm more than happy to donate to a cause such as this one as well.

I'm still a bit nervous about running a 5k in 4 weeks, though.

Anyone in or near Lynchburg want to help calm my nerves and run with me? Sign up HERE!

What was your first 5k race? Any advice for a newbie? If you haven't run a 5k, would you ever want to try it?

Till next time,
Catherine