Hitting the Pavement: HoosHeal 5k Recap

 

We woke up bright and early...before the sun...to get ready for the HoosHeal 5k. My close friend, Shannon, and I headed to Charlottesville for the race. The day was perfect...a little colder than expected, but beautiful nonetheless. The sun was out and spirits were high. My hubby brought our daughter to cheer us on.

We picked up our bibs, t-shirts, and goodie bags. We pinned on our bibs and watched as numerous racers came to join us. This was Shannon's first 5k and it was my first race post-baby. I was not nearly trained up enough but I still felt good just be among others excited about such a worthy cause. The funds from the race went towards the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UVA Children's Hospital.

As the morning went on, we all made our way to the starting line. We were greeted by the race coordinator. A mother who's daughter received cancer treatment at UVA gave a brief speech. As we all became teary from the sweet sentiments and the little girl's positive remission status, we began gearing up for the miles ahead of us.

The starting line

As the little girl blew the starting whistle, we took off. We kept with our walk/jog plan and kept a pretty steady pace. We tackled a couple unexpected hills and some poorly marked parts of our route with smiles on our faces. Racing is so much better when you have someone else cheering you on.

While I didn't capture any pictures during our race, I was sure to get some before and after shots. Shannon is pumped for another race and thus, I am scouring one of my favorite race sites, Running in the USA, for upcoming races. April is packed so the next one won't be doable until at least May. I refuse to greet the heat of summer with a race so we may wait until the Fall to tackle another one if something does not come up in May.

G was not a fan of the Cav Man (Go VT!)

 

Final finish time...36:40!
Full results can be found here.

One thing I'm reminded of during every race I've done, is the fact that I do not have endurance. Even when I was training daily for an upcoming race, I still didn't have the stamina to maintain a run the whole time. I'm open to suggestions on how to do this. With a baby now and the area in which we live, my primary training happens on a treadmill. While that is far from my favorite way to train (I'd rather be outside), it is what it is. I'd love some stamina insight from those of you who far exceed my ability.

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Despite my placement in the race, I finished...and I didn't finish last! I feel like we made great time for getting back in the saddle and I'm thrilled to check off one of my weight loss goals.

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