Shamrock (Towne Bank) 8K

My goodies! I forgot to include the bag we got in the picture. And the tiara was my own purchase but I had to include it in the picture. I can no longer say the longest race I've done is a 5K! I walked an 8K on Saturday with my girlfriend J and we had a blast. She and I finished in 1 hour and 45 minutes. We weren't trying to set a record or break a personal record we just wanted to finish. And we did!! I admit I was tired at the end and feeling run down. But I was so proud of us. I did great until about mile 4 then I started to feel a bit ready for the finish line lol. My goal for next year is to finish it in a shorter amount of time.

A few race day observations...parking was a hassle they directed us to parking garages and then charged us $10 to park. To me they could have included that in the race fee.

The start was well organized...we were in Corral 6 (the last one) so we walked about 7 blocks before we ever got to the finish line. But it wasn't too bad. And our start was good. The route was flat so that made for a nice walk.

At the end we had a few frustrations...other people had finished and weren't paying attention to those of us still walking so they would walk across the route, stand in the route, etc. I guess I feel like they had the opportunity to race in a clear route and we should too. I kinda felt like that was partially the volunteers who stopped keeping the route clear. They said we had up to 2 hours to finish so keep the path clear for 2 hours. And the Celebration Party at the End was very disorganized. They had free food and free beer but not really clear indications of where to go to get it. We ended up leaving and going to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. It was delish!!

But overall I had a great time and I would definitely do it again!! I was a little sore the next day but not too bad. And for the first time I'm actually thinking about trying to do a 10 miler or a half marathon. I'm just not sure how it works for walkers.

8Ks and 5Ks...It's All for a Good Cause

Source

I am not a runner...I am not really a jogger...I'm a walker. I'm ok with this. And I think I've officially gone to the dark side when it comes to "races" I admit I enjoy them. I like the atmosphere at the start and the end. It's a big feeling of "we're all in this together." And some of my races have been fun runs, some have been get fit runs, and a few have been fundraisers.

Currently I'm anticipating my 8K this weekend. I'm looking forward to it and I hope we have good weather. I got new shoes for the event, they are Brooks. I love their clothes and so far I love the shoes.

One of the races I did last year was for the Wounded Warrior Project and I'm looking at doing one for WWP again this year in April. I've signed up for another 5K in April already for Be the Match, the organization that works to help find bone marrow matches for those fighting leukemia and other blood diseases. The race is called Be The One Run and I'm running it in honor of my co-worker James who continues his battle with leukemia. And is most likely going to need a bone marrow transplant. So this cause is very near and dear to me.

I'm also looking at doing the Color Run in DC if it works into my schedule. And I'd like to get to the point where I can do the Wicked 10K in October so we'll see how it goes.

How are your fitness goals going?

8K Training

So I have a small problem in less than a month I'm walking an 8K. I really haven't done much training for it because my knee has been so sore. Now that I'm cleared I'm trying to get ready for it but I admit I'm nervous. I know that I have two hours to walk it so I'm not worried about not finishing but I'm a bit worried about my friend who's doing it with me getting held back. So I'm trying to increase my endurance and my speed. Wish me luck.

Because it is a themed walk we are trying to decide what to wear to honor St. Pat's. Since we will be walking/jogging we don't want to wear anything too crazy but something fun would be good. So we're looking around the area at local party shops and online for inspiration. Should be fun!!

Shamrock 8K

 From http://www.shamrockmarathon.com/

So my friend J and I have signed up to do the Townbank 8K portion of the Shamrock Marathon. I admit I'm a bit worried and need to get cracking on preparing for this walk. But I'm also excited. There is something incredibly fun about race day. Especially themed race days like this where everyone is all dressed up. It is just festive. So we are working on our outfits for race day. I'll give you a few previews of what I have in mind as I find them.

On a side note I'm debating about doing a 5K called The Hair of the Dog on New Year's Day. It doesn't start until 10:00 AM but I'm just not sure I'll want to drive an hour in the morning after being up late the night before. I'll keep you posted.