born to run

ad·dict·ed/əˈdiktid/ - Enthusiastically devoted to a particular thing or activity. 

I love running. I do. I think it would be safe to say that I'm somewhat addicted. Not only in races, but just in general. Every time I finish a run,.. I just feel so refreshed and feel good about myself. When I go a few days without running,.. I miss it. It just seems like something natural that I should do daily.

It's also quite fascinating to see how running will change your body. Running pretty much works your whole body... your arms, legs, back, abs.. everything. I guess swinging your arms back and forth works your upper back.. cause one day I woke up.. and was like "whoa... I don't have back fat rolls anymore,... sweet!!!"

Yesterday I ran my seventh 5k.. which has to be the hardest one I have done so far. Many hills, brick roads, uneven pavement, rocks & dirt,.. you name it. I'm not sure how many people were in the race, but I'd have to say over 200.... I finished in 27:25 (not exactly sure on seconds but i think it was around 25 seconds), the 55th person to finish overall, and I ranked 1st in my age division. Not a bad day.. for such a hard course. I didn't PR this time, but that's okay. My personal record is 26:04 and I am hoping to beat that this coming Saturday at the Long Leaf Trace. So we will see!

I really enjoyed this 5k.. and hope to do it again next year! -- This was it's 39th year in a row.. so I'm sure they will still continue to do it.  Yes this one was quite a challenge, but I think that its good to do some harder ones.. just to mix it up a bit.. and hills help to strengthen the legs.. that's for sure. I've done two other 5k's in Laurel that ran through downtown and historic Laurel,.. but neither of them were this hard.. or included this many hills. 

There were several people that I knew that did this race.. and everyone did so good!.. Just to finish at all is such a huge accomplishment! So CONGRATS to everyone who participated yesterday! :)

me, ginny, chad & terri.

adriane & me. This was her third 5k.. and she rocked it!

my running partner, ginny. :)

Also a big thank you to my husband, Hank, for waking up early to come and support me. I realize that getting up at 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning isn't the most ideal time to wake up, and I thank you for doing so anyways! You really don't understand how much it means to me! Also thanks to my mom & dad for coming out to see me run and in return, making my day! :)