Thanksgiving Day 2010

A week prior to Thanksgiving Day 2010, I was toying with the idea of running the Pie and Glove 5k in Corning. I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner in my home for my family and since I was just getting back into running road races, wasn't completely into the idea of it. Plus, the thought of cooking all day after didn't sound thrilling.

My son and fiance' encouraged me to "just do it!" So I did. We all put our layers on for that cold morning and out we went.

I can honestly say that I had never run outside in November, not ever! It was cold and snowing but I was going to give it a try as part of my commitment to get back into running. 

My son was so excited by all of the runners, and dogs, that came out. Some runners were dresses like pilgrims or had turkey hats on so he was really having a fun time checking everyone out! :) 

And, we were off.








 


The vest and gloves seemed like a good idea at the start but man, I got much warmer than I thought I would! Also, the snow kept sticking to my eye lashes and contacts and I was just ready to be done, lol!

At the finish, I was so glad I decided to run this race. Although I was frustrated, due to not knowing what to expect, I felt great! After realizing my time of 29:00, I felt like I had accomplished so much as this was one minute faster than my time at the Veterans Day 5k.

Regaining My Love for Running

After recently joining the gym I recalled how great it felt to run, although the treadmill was not my favorite place to do so. I had certainly put on a few pounds and wanted an aggressive way to lost those pounds so thought, why not get myself a new pair of running sneakers to motivate me. After all, I needed not only that motivation but also the sneakers as mine were old and had seen their days.

While doing a work event at the Texas Roadhouse, I saw a poster on the wall advertising a Veteran's Day 5k at Elmira College. I knew that I was really not in great shape for this but since the fall weather is my favorite for running I figured, why not? Plus, my fiance' and sister are both Air Force Veterans so I would run not only for myself but in honor of them. My fiance' had planned to run with me but had previously hurt his already injured knee so came along to simply cheer me on. Sometimes, that is all that matters! :)

Prior to the race, a wonderful tribute was had to remind us all why we came out to run. 

Then, we were off!

Running this race felt so good but also made me realize how out of shape I was. After the first two miles, I was ready to topple over!

Ryan was there cheering me on as I approached the last mile. All I kept telling myself is "you just need to finish; your time doesn't matter on this one!"

I crossed the finish line at :30 and a 9:31 pace. You know, it could have been much worse! From here, I was determined to get back into shape and drop those run times.