Race Recap – iRun 5k/10k – March 3, 2013

When I noticed there was another 10k race in Miami, I knew I had to sign up since the Carnaval 10k was shortened and not a true 10k, I wanted to race a real 10k before my first half marathon. Although most people probably would not have done a race 6 days before their first half, what can I say, I’m a risk taker. Anyways another reason I wanted to do this race was because Adidas was one of the sponsors and I love Love LOVE all my Adidas gear. I signed up for this race about a month before, wondering how the course would be since the course map showed a neighborhood, not used to that at all. I picked up my race packet a few days before the race, it included an iRun temporary tattoo & a bag of coffee beans. irun1

irun2                                                                       I love this iRun tattoo 🙂

The morning of the race it was chilly, I was prepared to wear 3 layers again but took off the compression core layer in the car before getting out. It was around 55 or so when the race began at 7am, so the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. I have to say it was a very good race to run before my half, super well organized and everyone was very sweet, and no need to dodge and weave walkers at the beginning! 3 water stops as it was a double loop for the 10k runners, one loop for the 5k. We ran by some restaurants I had ate at before, including Andiamo’s, best pizza in Miami & through neighborhoods. I liked that some people were outside of their houses, staring bewildered at us all running & later on the second loop, they had brought out chairs to watch everyone. I liked the way the volunteers would urge you to go faster just before the finish line and all the people cheering when you crossed it. Very very awesome. After the race I kept moving and got a Smoothie King sample & banana and walked back to the finish line to watch everyone. Another great thing is that the porta potties had toilet paper AFTER the race too! And all finishers got medals! Fun time and great race, I will definitely be doing another iRun event, I wish I lived closer & could do their weekly runs too.

irun3                                                                            a new medal!

irun4                                                                     later in Starbucks, mirror pic.

Running Down A Dream – An infographic about running

An interesting infographic I found recently:

running-toward-a-better-you-infographic                                                                    Click the image to see it bigger

What is your reason for running? Or reason that you do not run currently? What are u waiting for?

Runabout

July 2012:

A post that I wrote at the beginning:

Let me start by saying I never enjoyed running in P.E. classes in school and downright hated it when we had to run laps at bootcamp. Then for some reason I woke up one morning feeling like I wanted to run a 5k, maybe even one day a marathon. So of course I got online and started doing some research (Google is my drug of choice) and found that a lot of people used the Couch to 5K program/phone apps. Basically its the Galloway method of walk/run intervals until you are running the whole time. I’m currently using the 5K Runner app and the Nike + GPS app.

I’d like to think that I’m influencing people to start getting some exercise too. Only saying that because when I first started running at the park, no one was walking on the path, I could tell they were watching me from the playground area though. Now that I’ve been out there for 6 weeks I have actually seen one couple running together and a couple of groups of ladies walking around the course.

When I first started I didn’t know if I would be able to run even a minute without gasping for air. I think going to fitness bootcamp  has helped with my endurance too. About four weeks into my 5K Runner training I signed up for  The Color Run to keep me motivated.

2013 Update:

I have now ran four 5ks and am training for my 1st Half Marathon in March, the 13.1 Allstate Life Insurance Marathon in Miami Beach. I still can’t believe that I enjoy running this much, to put so much dedication into it. I now wake up at 6am four times a week to get in my run, alternating with pilates and yoga throughout the week when I find time and bootcamp every Sunday. Lately I have incorporated some biking to cross train with less impact to help my muscles recover faster.

I have to say that my first race was very inspiring, it was the Komen Race for the Cure race, just a day before what I thought would be my first race ever, The Color Run. I started off way too quickly but to this day that first mile out has been my fastest mile ever, I was just too excited to start slowly. I have since been practicing doing mostly negative splits on my training runs. I’m excited and nervous about my first half marathon but I know that I can do it!

Tropical5K

Yesterday’s 5K – Tropical 5k part of ING Miami weekend. My 1st medal. Came in 217th overall, 46th woman, 4th in my age group 😀

Do you run? If so, what is your next race? What do you use to motivate you to train?