Happy Running Day

Just got back from my first 5k EVER and I absolutely loved it.

It was not easy and running is seriously something that takes time and practice, but I am so glad we did it. We decided to sign up for a race in Reston, Virginia because it would be more accessible than some in DC and the date was convenient. It was the 11th annual Hopecam Race, which is a "nonprofit organization that connects homebound children battling life-threatening illnesses, with their friends and classmates using technology". The founder said a few words about his son with leukemia and how much being connected to his friends has helped, it made me cry, which did not help my breathing situation when the race started...

Nonetheless, the course was really cool, we went in and out of a nice, "woodsy" neighbourhood, with beautiful lakes and some (not too, too bad) hills. Plus, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, in the 50's. Matt's time was 27:05 and mine was 38:02, which is a big improvement from when I started (read: 45 mins), but still needs a lot of work. Nonetheless, I'm very happy with my time, considering that the last time I really ran was in high school and not only did I hate it, but I really struggled, it is certainly not my forte. To be on the soccer team, we had to run under 10 min miles and I was always one of the slowest people. But, moving forward, I'm excited to continue to improve and so happy I ran this race today!

After the race :)



My only complaints were that my pants were falling off a little during the race and and that there were no mile markers (those two are clearly unrelated); therefore I had no idea what point of the race I was at. So, I had to ask a police man is it almost over? Am I there yet? Oh well, I guess it helped in a tiny way to have no clue how much was left, all I could do was keep powering through it and enjoy my awesome playlist. Thank you for all of your recommendations + support. Songs included, but were not limited to: New Shoes (Paolo Nutini), Stereo Love (Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina), Give Me Everything (Pitbull) and Just Can't Get Enough (Black Eyed Peas). It was REALLY exciting to finally see the finish line and Matt cheering me on, I had finally made it.

Thinking about signing up for another one, I'll let you know! Not sure what the rest of the day has in store for us, maybe going to the driving range, the EU Embassies' open houses, the movies (I want to see Something Borrowed, but I am not sure if I will make Matt suffer through that, haha) or perhaps a date with the couch for a little bit.

Almost HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!