Done and Done!

I ran the race this morning and I'm so happy to say that I accomplished both of the goals I set out to! I ran the entire race (although at times it was super slow) and I bet my race last race time by three minutes- unofficially. I still haven't seen the "official" results online, but from what I could tell when I crossed the finish line.

I haven't run three miles since...2000 maybe even farther back. I haven't run for 38+ minutes in I don't know how long. But what I do know is that I feel really great about the race.

The part of me that is used to putting myself down and criticizing everything I do, wants to focus on the fact that running "only three miles" (in comparison to 26.2) was difficult and that it took me a really long time. But I say screw you.

I'm proud of myself for running the whole race. I'm proud of myself for not stopping when I absolutely wanted to. I'm proud of myself for sticking with my marathon training. I'm proud of myself for seeing such great progress since the last race I ran on 10/21. During my last race, I was only able to run a mile before I started the walking/running thing.

Some highlights of the race (besides what I mentioned above):
1. Boges, Jena, Steve & Clancy cheering me on. I saw Boges & Jena twice! And they single handedly helped make sure I ran the whole thing by being in a great location along the Venice boardwalk at the end.
2. An amazing morning, chilly and cool, but beautiful blue skies and crisp ocean views for almost the last half of the race.
3. Getting cheered on by some of the regular crackheads of Venice. Seriously put a smile on my face when I saw two homeless people standing along the race course (Ocean Front Walk or something like that) saying "You look good" and "Keep going." It still makes me smile just thinking about it!
4. Doing the race with my friend Cyrena who kicked some serious ass!
5. Finishing!

Cyrena and I have already decided on our next 5k which will be in conjunction with the LA Marathon. Although I'm not crazy about getting into the madness that will be the LA Marathon, I am excited to be around that kind of energy!