Maple Park 5k part 1

This evening I ran a 5K and I wanted to compare my time (my very high time) with the first 5k I ran back in March 2009.  I knew I'd blogged about it, so I went and looked it up. 

I was both and sad and enthralled to skim through my blog in 2009.  It is awesome to read all the fun things there!  And a little sad to think that I don't write such fun things now. 
I'm not going to promise anything about being awesome like that again, but I did decide to at least write a little tonight.

By the way, I didn't ever say this on here (because I didn't write again), but I appreciated your comments.  It was good to remember what it is like to have friends and family who actually know me and love me.  I don't really have real friends here (and definitely don't have family).  I have lots of acquaintances and a few friends, but not friends like the past.  I'm used to it, but your comments from my last post reminded me how life used to be.  I also decided that it was worth keeping the blog (on the off chance that I might write), if only for my aunts.  :)  Friends are a bonus.

Anyway, I'll tell you a little about my 5k tonight and call that good. 

Before I moved to EJ, I had found this Maple Park 5k thing.  It's every Wednesday in May.  I was excited to do it!  But then I was in Texas all May and June last year.  (Too bad, because I was actually in shape last year.)  Then I bought a car and the nastiest winter of my life came along and I am completely out of shape.  So decided to use the May 5ks as a goal to get in shape.

It almost worked.  I started running when the ground was still covered with snow (early March).  Slowly but surely running more and more.  Running was awful though, even after a few weeks, so I had already decided to slow up.  Then, one night at volleyball I rolled my ankle.  So no running.  No exercise at all for a couple of weeks.  Then I was back with biking and walking.  But still not in really great shape. And no, my ankle is still not healed (better, but not healed).

But I had already signed up for the 5ks.  And back in January or February I had tried to recruit a friend.  She wasn't sure (because she was newly pregnant, it turns out), but then in April she started running.  She's been ready to go.  Saturday we ran 2 miles together (my first time to run in over a month).  We survived, but were a little nervous for today.

Today we showed up at the park.  Turns out it is super casual and not a lot of people.  Most of them have done it before.  The course is a double circle on dirt paths and fields.  Normally I would love this course (I do like running true cross country), but with a bum ankle and an out of shape body it was a little rough.  The worse part was that the fields were sopping wet (happily, it was not raining today--was a lovely day, actually; sure at least one week it won't favor us so much), so my shoes were squishing and muddy and I got two big blisters early on from wet socks.  So to recap: not in shape at all; bum ankle (which did alright); wet shoes and sock; and two large blisters on my arches.  Oh yeah, and I ate lunch too late, so I wanted to throw up the whole time.  It was really painful and not that fun.     ON THE OTHER HAND:  Jessika was doing it with me.  I was SO grateful for that.  It was fun because she was there (and Jon and Kate, her husband and almost 2 year old daughter cheered for us) and I finished because she was there.  It was a gorgeous, sunny, early spring day.  And my body can do it!  So, at the end of the day, it was a good thing.  

We were the last ones in (again, like 20 people) and it was definitely our longest 5ks times--but that'll make it easier to beat the next 3 weeks. :)  37:37 minutes 

Here we's are:

I want to show you a picture of my arches (and my mud covered shoes), but I'll spare you.