Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Crossing the Finish Line

All the preparation of eating healthier, and daily cardio I have been doing is leading up to this... I'm finally signing up for my first 5k, and I could not be more excited about it! With the exception of the month of September, I have been regularly rotating my mornings with either an hour run or an hour walk since my engagement in November, and I actually have been able to keep off 8 pounds since. Somehow, September flew right by me without sticking to regular exercise. Although, I have been staying on track with healthier eating habits, so as long as I get back into my work out routine, I should be fine to run the race in December.

Since it's the beginning of a new month, I've decided to find the time again around school and work to get back into the right mind frame of no excuses, and just making the time to incorporate daily exercise. Especially since my good friend just invited me to join her in December for this race to be held at the beautiful Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Fl, close to where she lives.

This course isn't your typical Florida flat-ground run. No, Clermont is surrounded by rolling hills. Which is sure to make this course just a tad bit more difficult. The course I will be registering to run includes 3.1 miles of rolling hills, paved roads, and trail running. For the more experienced runners, you also have the option to run a 10k or a half marathon. Since this is my first run, I will be starting with the 5k, and maybe one day soon I'll be able to work up to the half marathon.

Deena Kastor, long-distance Olympic medalist, holds the American record in the marathon and half marathon, and knows a thing or two about race day. Kastor says, "No matter the sport, the best thing you can do to have peace of mind on race day, is to really put the work in with proper training," she continues, "I'm never really nervous because I know I've optimized every day leading up to the race and have the training behind me."

As a first time race participant, of course I'm feeling a little nervous- I think that's probably natural. As a race newbie, stepping up to the starting line can definitely be intimidating. But as long as I stick to my guns, take advantage of the Weight Watchers running for fitness tips and techniques, while taking advice from Deena Kastor and keep training, I'm sure I'll do just fine.

If you're interested in participating in this race you can find more information here regarding registration, pricing, time and date of the race.


2 comments:

  1. Sticking to an eating and exercise routine has been very difficult for me. I have found that working hard for 12 weeks and then taking 4 weeks off is easier than continuous work.

    I particularly like a book called, The Four Hour Body, by Tim Ferriss. It has uncommon strategies for diet and exercise. You may get something out of it.

    Good luck!

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  2. Thanks for the comment and book referral! I will definitely have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete