Nostalgic About Races

I have been running on empty the past few days. I didn't get enough sleep on the bachelorette party weekend, I worked crazy hours on Monday, and I had a day trip to Memphis on Tuesday. By yesterday, I was dying and having trouble keeping my head up at my desk come 3pm. I had speedwork on the schedule for later in the evening and I talked to my coach and we made some adjustments. The workout was mile repeats which I hadn't done before. I love a challenge and I'm surprised what I can do in workouts when I aim for a loftier pace goal than I would have even tried without the help of my coach. And then when I try it, it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm getting excited for some of the upcoming goal races to REALLY see what I can do when I have the confidence and training to push my body farther than it has ever gone before. Get ready PR! I'm coming for you!

I officially signed up for the Jim Gibbons 5k today. It is the first 5k I ever did, back in 2006. Here is a small excerpt from my embarrassing old college LiveJournal (to anyone interested in reading that pile of garbage, it is "friends only," sorry... not really).

June 15, 2006
i am running a 5k today for lukemia research. its the first 5k i've done in years, if ever. i am running it with amanda so it should be fun. if this works out, i might do these more often. 

Who knew I'd become so addicted only a few short years later? I think of what my life was then and what it is now and so much has changed! As kind of a trip down memory lane, I've made this race one of my goal races for the year. I'm excited to push the pace and aim for that 5k PR that I know I can achieve! It is on Thursday, June 14 at 6:30 in the city and quite a few of my fellow blogger friends are doing it too. I know there is an Active Advantage discount if you're a member, so you should sign up too! We are going to probably do a meetup too before and after the race. If you're looking for a reason to signup, last time I did it, there was free beer post-race. Just saying....!!!

Do you often think about your first race (outside of high school athletics)? What distance was it and how long ago? I don't have any photos from back then, otherwise I would post it! Instead, I'll leave you with a photo from my first Shamrock Shuffle 8k, 9 months after my first ever 5k. I think this race was kind of a door-opener to other races for me. I had friends that were running it, I had graduated college, I was ready to start my life as an adult.

I'm the one in the middle, bib #19463, giving the camera the stink eye

Now... Let's talk about some things about this photo that make me giggle. I don't even know what shorts those are. Those gym shoes are totally from high school and 4+ years old (and the sports bra is probably from high school too--yikes). I love that I'm wearing my bib over my boobs. Why wear a sweet UIC shirt if no one can see the logo? Also, I think that MP3 play I'm using can only hold about 15 songs on it. (Thankfully it was a short race.) Despite all these things, I still ran a 47:34 (9:34) with no pain. Ah to be young again. Haha. Do you have photos from an early race? How have you changed since then?