This past Sunday(May 2, 2010) did my first ever 10k run.  Was at the Heart of a Spartan event which was it’s first year running.  There was an amazing turnout of people.  Around 1500 alone in the 10k and 2500 in the 5k event.  The support of the people, the volunteers and everyone involved made it a great event.  I ended up completing the event in 52 minutes and 17 seconds. Averaged 8:21 minute miles.  Considering I had not run this length only one other time, I felt that it went awesome. I had hoped to below 53 minutes and I did it. 

I had only run in a 5k event previously down in Dearborn (Martian) and it was an amazing experience.  Definitely different than running alone on a track or outdoors.  You have all this energy and excitement from the people around you as they get ready to partake on this amazing journey.

The 10k was wrapped around the campus of Michigan State University, my alma mater!    To set the stage, it was a pretty normal day.  The only big issue was the rain.  Now I had been training by running outdoor is somewhat ‘ideal’ weather and situations.  So running the rain was definitely a new experience for me.  One that well I have a new found respect for. It wasn’t too bad initially. One thing I will remember for next time is to not wear glasses or definitely get some contacts and wear.

The other thing is to get a better shirt one that fits tighter. it had way too much movement and caused some soreness which was very distracting throughout the race. So we live and learn and move on. But I still enjoyed the event and will be there next year as well.  Hopefully no rain. :)

So what got me motivated to get running this past winter? Simply said, my new found energy, my new found desire to continue my quest to get healthy, stay fit and challenge myself. I owe it to myself making the decision to press play, workout and eat healthy. If I hadn’t started P90x back in January of 2009 and laid down the foundation of good eating, hard work there’s not telling where I would be today.  With the added rounds of Insanity, healthy nutrition and Shakeology I’ve kept my activity levels going, my workout schedule on track and loving every minute of it.

I’m excited to keep on running and see where it goes.  It’s been fun and I hope to keep pushing myself. Each month I hope to do some sort of race, whether it be a 5k, 10k or maybe something longer down the road. Looking to up the ante with a potential Dances with Dirt event in September.  Check it out. Should be fun.

Many new products(TurboFire, Body Gospel, P90xNext, Insanity Asylum) coming down the pipe from BeachBody that are going to rock your world. More to come on those. Any questions on my journey or how I can help you reach your fitness goals and have your own journey, contact me.  It’s fun, takes dedication, but is well worth the hard work.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

  So this past winter I began my adventure with some light running.  I tried to stay consistent and get in about 3 days a week running on average between 2 and 4 miles each time.  I’ve continue that routinely now for about 4 or 5 months.  I have been using Nike+, can see my progress there, to keep track of my runs as well.  My original goal was to add another area of exercise to my routine and see if I felt comfortable enough with the running to do more.  About a week or so ago I ran in my first 5K.

This first run was the Martian Meteor 5K run.  It was a bit scary at first. Luckily good friend Sam was running a 1/2 marathon that day which made it a bit easier chatting with him pre-run time.  It was a staggeringly cold morning I will say.  At least for me.  That was the first time that I had run anything outdoors.  I’d not once step foot on the pavement to see how my body would react, if at all differently. I’d been running on the indoor track at the local high school each morning in a wonderfully controlled environment. :)  My results can be seen here directly for the overall.

My results were pretty good. I ended up running the 5K in 24:57 minutes. Averaged 8:02 minute miles.  In the end came in 7th overall for my age group and 51st overall.  First time out was very satisfied with the results.  It was definitely a new experience.  Sitting at the starting line, was back in the pack more and had to do some maneuvering to get out into open space to actually get moving initially and get into a rhythm.  I would consider getting more to the front in the future, but not right out in front.

My 2nd run is coming up.  Heart of A Spartan in East Lansing, Michigan. My Alma Mater, Michigan State University is where the run will be done.  I will be upping the ante this time around and running a 10K.  Figured I should be able to make that distance, even though have only yet to run it once.  But have faith that I can certainly get through it.  Whether I can keep a satisfactory pace we shall see. Goal is to finish under an hour, but looking closer to 50-53 minutes as a time that I will be happier with. 

I’ll be updating after the race with how it goes.  Sticking to a plan and hopefully executes well.  I will say that me doing any running wouldn’t be possible without doing the BeachBody Insanity program and continuing to stick with my workout program. Contact me if interested or have any questions.

Decide.Commit. Succeed.