November 25th, 2010 - Turkey Day Dash (5k)

The continued prayer is, “Lord keep me focused. Keep my mind stayed on You. Help me to bring You praise. I know You believe in me. Please help me in my unbelief. Amen.”

The only thing that can make Thanksgiving better is starting it out with a nice race where you get to PR! WOO-HOO!!!!

It was a very crisp and clear day. We started in the Oaks Mall and huddled in the atrium to keep warm before the start. The course was relatively flat and it was an easy run. I remembered to breathe deeply so I never felt tired or winded. I kept it steady and took advantage of every decline, no matter how slight. When I came up to one, I increased my speed and let gravity carry me as long as it lasted.

It was a great run and I was able to shave 1:45 off my best 5k time. I was able to get through it without injuring myself or aggravating any past injuries, so I’m calling it a win. This was the first run I’ve ever done, where I took the time to buzz around the Results Table so I could see what my official time was but they were taking so long, I had to leave. I figured I could find them online later. Bad choice. I still haven’t been able to find it!

As usual, I ran into some wonderful strangers and spoke to many people. I was very envious of all the Garmins I saw. I have one on my Amazon Wish List but I seriously doubt that I’ll get one. I couldn’t spend that much money on myself right now. With birthday parties, property taxes, Christmas, home owners insurance and our anniversary all coming up in a manner of weeks, I couldn’t ask for such a thing. Maybe if we do well enough during tax season, I'll consider it. For now, I'll just be saving my pennies!

In the meantime I will be praying for the motivation I'll need to get out in this cold (or "cold" for Southern California) weather to get the miles in. I have another 5k next weekend. The "Say No to Drugs" run in Los Angeles. That should be a *lot* of fun. I'll be going with my mother-in-law. She's been training for months so it will be nice to be with her when she PRs.

Gotta love the Fall!!!! If I had the means, I would do a race every weekend!