My First Running Event

"Are you nervous?"
That was probably the question I was asked the most in regards to participating in my first running event. Santa Shuffle - 5km Fun Run. The answer was always no, but here's why: I've got the coolest new friends. I've mentioned this before, but Skye and Kathryn have started a run club on Saturday mornings. It's here where I have met the most awesome new friends. 

#yyjRunClub:After we all finished.

We run approximately 5km every Saturday morning. We run in the VicWest/Esquimalt area. Coincidentally, the route that the Santa Shuffle took was our most run route. Except this time there were a LOT more people on the path and when I was done someone handed me a medal.

I want to take a minute to really thank Skye. My goal (even though this was a 'fun run' and not a timed race) was to run at a 7:10min/km avg. I haven't consistently been able to run any faster than that, and that was a time that required good consistent effort.

Skye pushed the pace a little. I felt bad that the others had taken off and Skye probably felt a little obligated to run with me. Man, I can't tell you how much I appreciated it though. I felt myself struggling to keep up the pace even before the halfway mark. After we hit the turn-around point I couldn't keep control of my breathing. Normally when I slow down a little bit, Skye slows down too... but I felt her pushing me (even though at this point she wasn't yelling at me... HA).

The last KM I was dying, I had never pushed my pace that hard. We had to head up one last hill and Skye said to me "Ok, just one more hill and then it's all downhill to the finish line. Here's where I start being a bitch." She encouraged me to give everything I had left in the last 500m. At the time, I wanted to tell her to go up a creek and I'll do this at my own pace, but I sprinted through the last 100m and felt like I REALLY accomplished something.

Oh, and that 7:10min/km average I was aiming for? I kicked the shit out of it and rocked a 6:48.