Dog Gone Cold 5k

Another race was run today!

This time, the 3rd annual Dog Gone Cold 5k! This race was cool because you could bring your dogs, run with them, and it was centered around rescue and adoption. Funny, I signed up for this race before I knew we'd have a new puppy. I'm glad I signed up for this one because it was a great opportunity to get our new puppy out there and socialize with other dogs. Once again he stole the show, nearly everyone we passed had to stop and "aaaawwwww" at him :) I don't blame them, he is super cute. And there weren't any other young puppies there. He did really good with all the people and big strange dogs. Now, if we can just get better with his potty training...

This race was aptly named. It was about 40 out there this morning, which for Georgia is cold! It's about the coldest temperature I can run in at this point. 35/frost on the ground and I will run inside or do something else that day. I know I could train to run in colder weather, but I don't have the gear for it nor does it make a whole lot of sense to stock up on heavy cold weather gear that won't get used a whole lot. Maybe next year when I am a better runner and running longer sessions. But for what I am doing now, for the most part it's 40 or higher when I run, and I can deal with that. This morning I did layer up but definitely felt a little chilly. Lately it's been in the 60's and 70's here, but with that huge storm that just rolled through the country we got quite a cold front. So after a few weeks of not running in the cold, breathing was a little bit painful for me today.


My goal here was to see if I could beat last week's time of 27:17, or at least come close to it.

Race started off, made my way through the throngs of people as per usual. I thought I had a pretty good pace going in the beginning. I was pushing myself - I like to push myself when I run. Then I looked down at my watch and it said 10:08. WAT??? This can't be! I hadn't even hit the first mile yet! Guess I'm not going as fast as I thought! Oh well, time to keep plodding on I guess. Reached the first mile point, they shouted out my time "8:36!" Wha? *looks at watch again* 10:09. Doh. For some reason when I pushed the stopwatch button the clock never started. And the race started at 10am - not 10 minutes 8 seconds on my stopwatch! Sigh of relief, I'm not doing as bad as I thought!

For this run I kind of hit the wall a little bit towards the very end of the race. The last half mile or so was hard. After what seemed like forever I saw the finish line, and the clock was creeping up on 27:17. I knew I wasn't going to make it but I could at least get close. 27:36 is what I saw as I crossed the line. And my husband was kind enough to take pictures!

All in all a good run. The usual hiccups that come with any race - starting off slow due to all the people, tying a shoe, etc. My one regret with this run is not getting enough calories beforehand. I forgot to eat my pre run snack, I think due to all the dogs being around and having to mind our puppy. I definitely felt like I was running on an empty stomach during that last mile, right about the time my energy dropped. And I didn't beat my time from last week. But on the other hand, today proved that the first run wasn't a fluke. I have now run a 27 minute 5k twice in a row. 4 months ago I could run a 12:30 mile. Now I'm seeing times like 8:36. Granted, this pace is very challenging for me and there's no way I could maintain it during longer distances. But as I always say, I do my best to make absolutely sure I am pushing myself. I always ask myself - Can I go faster? Do I really need a break or can I keep going? Is that extra 10 second break really necessary? Today's answers were: Faster. Keep going. Break's over.  And that's exactly what will enable me to lose more weight, become faster and stronger, and one day be awesome at running.

Post run floppy puppy hugs!

This was alot of fun. We enjoyed the scenery around the Lake Olmstead area of Augusta, we got to see tons of dogs and chat with their owners, picked up a few freebies for the dog, and I completed another good run. No more racing for me until the end of Feb. when I do my 10k *gulp* Time to start up long runs on saturdays again!