We (pant) did it (pant, pant) !!

Lisa and I can now (proudly) say we ran our first 5k!! (We actually ran it two weeks ago.  I told Lisa I would get this post up right away and not wait a month.  It hasn't quite been a  month, so we're good, right??)

We met at the mall so we could carpool to the park.  Would be nice if we lived closer to each other!! 

8 weeks ago, we both happened to see a Groupon for a lower registration fee for the race.  I called her up and we said yeah, it's crazy, but we kinda do wanna do this!  However, by the time we tried to sign up the Groupon was sold out :(  BUT - we were lucky enough to still get in on the Early Bird fee so we went for it!

8 weeks ago, my best form of exercise was climbing onto the elliptical in our basement and going for 30 minutes.  This was good exercise but it did nothing to prepare me for the first day I hit the track and started running.  What a difference! 

8 weeks ago I was eating vegan and gluten free (along with using the elliptical) and weight was slowly coming off.  But then I decided to try MyFitmessPal (again) to count calories and this time I actually liked it!  I think the difference was I was able to use the app on our iPad and didn't have to clomp down 3 flights of stairs to log my food every time I ate.  I realized that while the food I was eating was all very healthy my portion sizes had to change.  (I'm hoping once I get to my proper weight I can stop counting calories!) 

8 weeks ago I started running AND tracking my vegan and gluten free diet and over those 8 weeks I have lost 20 lbs.  And if you add the weight that I had lost over the previous year, I'm actually down 45!! 

As for run training for the 5k, little by little I added on minutes to my "run."  Eventually, I stopped counting minutes and went for a 1 mile run.  Then 2 miles.  Then 3 miles.  I had some disappointing runs but for the most part I aimed to improve something each time I ran.  Whether it was to lessen my mile time or add on more distance I wanted to be happy I got out there and did something.

I'm still the slowest runner at the gym.  I love reading shirts (on Pinterest) that delare "I run.  I'm slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I run!" or "I run slower than Internet Explorer on 90's dial up but I run."

So enough back story, let's move on to the 5k!!

The night before the run I decided to get a little crafty!  You can read more about that on our crafty blog. (Now I owe you two posts over on that blog - the crafts for the 5k and the blankets I made for the boys for Christmas.....)

The morning of the run I pin-curled my hair to the top of my head and put on a bandana in the style of "Rosie the Riveter."  I slapped some Arnica Rub on my hips and knees and figured I was good to go!

Lisa and I painted our nails to go with the color theme, and wore our crocheted wrist bands to catch more color.

A sea of mostly white at the start line. (Although you can see that some people opened their color packets early!)

Ready to RUN!(Yes, I wore tights - I was wanting to catch as much color as I could!)

The before and after collage Lisa put together from pics on her phone.

After the run covered in "gravy" - we called it "gravy" because our sweat mixed with the color powder which was made with cornstarch.  (Gross, right?)

Here is my head to toe shot.  (Honestly, I still have a few splotches of color left on my shoes, even two weeks later!)

After the 5k we went to my favorite soup place in town.  I got a vegan/gluten free sandwich and some tomato bisque.  No, the bisque wasn't vegan but man was it good!

 My bandana that helped keep the color out of my hair.

My curly hair after taking down the pin-curls.  Too bad all the big curls got washed away with my shower!

We had so much fun!  There was a bit of huffing and puffing on my part and maybe a few whines.  ("There should be more water stations!"  "Where is the next color station??"  "Aren't we done yet??")  But I must say I'm planning on doing this again next year.  In fact, Lisa has invited me to be on her team from work to run another fun-themed 5k in a couple of months.  I'm looking forward to it!