Move-It Monday: 1 Year of Running

Saturday marked my the one year anniversary of my first 5k race. To celebrate this occasion, I ran the same race, the Sole Burner 2013 in Appleton with my cousin and her husband and her father-in-law. Her mother-in-law and sister walked the route with the kiddos.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't like 2012 and we woke up to chilly temps and overcast skies. 2012 started cooler, but warmed up with beautiful, sunny skies by the time we started running. Our 2012 times were: Trisha ran a 26, Steve ran a 27 Perry ran a 39 and I ran a 40:04.

2012 Sole Burner

We registered the day-of this year because we were questioning the weather. Unfortunately they were out of t-shirts by the time we got in the tent. A little bit of a bummer as it was my one-year, but that's what I get for registering late!

The overall mood of the pre-run area was a little calmer than the previous year as we were all trying to just stay warm before the race.

We wandered up to the front just in time for them to blow the horn and we started off. It was less congested of a start this year which was nice, but my Pandora app decided to not work at that moment and I was so pumped to run to the Eminem station. I just turned on my run iTunes playlist instead and zoned out to Dave Matthews, Alex Clare and P!nk.

2013 Sole Burner

I could tell I was going a bit quick at the start, but I was feeling great. I knew the route and pretty much what to expect because it was the same course. I remembered the year prior when I needed to slow down and catch my breath, and I made sure to power through those spots this year.

About a half mile into the course, I started feeling ran droplets on me. I figured it was just a little storm and didn't worry about it. When we turned to head to College Ave. just after the 1 mile marker, the wind came gusting up behind us and flipped over barricades used blocking side streets. I realized I couldn't be so zoned out and had to watch for things flying around. But the wind at my back was great. (No one was hurt by anything flying.)

We turned onto College Ave. and the gusting winds were pushing against us then. Hats flew off and it was like a wind tunnel. I couldn't wait to get up the hill on College and turn again.

I remembered the big downhill and huge uphill in the last mile and took advantage of the water station to rinse my mouth and prepare. I was still feeling amazing despite the wind and rain.

I powered up the last hill the best I could and it was really raining at this point. Icy cold water on my face made me have to stare at my feet while running through the finish.

But I crossed that finish with a smile on my face as I knew I beat last year's time. It was really raining and I headed right for the tent that we were meeting at. I grabbed a water and caught my breath. Look at that red face representing my red faced runners (#RFR5k)

We waited in the tent for the others to meet up with us. It was too miserable for them to walk the whole 5k with the kiddos, so they cut back and joined us in the tent after a mile. We ran to the car and headed straight to Starbucks to warm up. When we got in the car, it started to sleet and we could hear the ice hitting the car.  Seriously, it's May - where is our warm weather? (It's also Wisconsin so we have 4 seasons each week sometimes!)

A skinny chai tea latte was exactly what I needed. The drive-thru Barista said Starbucks was the place to be after the race and we thanked her for her hard work and yummy beverages.

From inside the tent

We got back to the house and while waiting for official results to be posted, I took a really warm shower.

Results were posted a few hours later and we found out Trisha ran a 25 Steve was 28, Perry was 40 and I was......

Listed as an Other Participant :(

My chip timer didn't read for some unknown reason: rain, a wrinkle or bad read across the finish are a few reasons listed on the website. Luckily I was using my MapMyRun app and I know that I ran 3.4 miles in 38:14. I beat Perry and I beat last year's time!!!!!!!!!!

I took some turns wide so that is why I would have done a longer route than what was marked. Check out my splits below! My first mile is the fastest I have ever run by over a minute!!! Hello adrenaline. I am so happy with my time and can't wait to run another race soon!