Saturday was the RUN OVER VIOLENCE 5K.  It was a bombing 46* and windy as all get out.  I must admit, I was unprepared for just how cold it was.  I luckily had brought a hoodie along for after the race.  With 3 layers and ear muffs, I was still cold...so I can't imagine how some of those skinny girls with a T-shirt and wind jacket felt!!

This was my sister-in-law and brother-in-laws first competitive race ever! Yay for them!  My brother-in-law got second in his age group!  He did a 28 minute 5K!  Must be those long legs :).  And my sister-in-law did a 35 minute 5K!  Kudos to both of them!  Due to their speediness, they both missed the rain and sleet.  Lucky them!
  

I am part of a small running group called SPRING INTO TRAINING or S.I.T.  There are classes on racing tips and equipment.  But last Wednesday, we ran in groups according to our pace and style of running.  The 2 girls in my group were a little faster than me, but were sports and matched my pace.  So when I saw them at the race on Saturday, I went up to them and asked what pace they were doing.  That's when they said "Mel needs a partner!".  Wonderful!  I was so excited to have someone to race with!  Come to find out, Mel is in the same running group...we've just managed to miss each other.  I have missed a few training classes and she missed the last one that I actually made it to.  Hooray for new running partners!  That was probably the most I've tried to talk during a race.

We set our intervals for 1/1:30 run/walk.  The course wasn't all flat.  There was one particularly steep hill that absolutely drained us and we opted to walk through an interval to catch our breath.  It's amazing to see how walking through just one interval can put THAT much distance between the you and the people you've kept pace with.  As we were both getting back into the saddle with training, neither one of us was in enough shape to catch back up.  We kept our intervals after that and sprinted in at the finish line.  Did I mention that it sleeted, rained, was windy, hilly, and freezing cold?! 

(Left to right) S.I.T. runner and her girls.  Mel and myself.

Running it in!!!

We finished with a time of 45:10.9!!  A 14:34 minute/mile pace!  SCORE!!!  That's about the same pace I did the Fort4Fit in...and that was my best time ever!!!

This post is to catch everyone up on what I've been up to.

I have been bleeding for the past 7 months after my miscarriage.  I just got diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome...and a couple other things.  PCOS makes you gain weight rapidly and is crazy hard to take off.  Go figure.  Now that I'm medicated properly, I'm hoping  that I'll be able to lose a little more weight running this year than I did last year.

Last Saturday, I ran the Discover Roanoke 5K.

I had only ran once before this race since Fort4Fitness last September.
My lovely husband got us lost.  We couldn't find the town, let alone the starting line.  I showed up over 5 minutes late.  I found someone to grab my bib for me.  A very kind lady asked me if I wanted her to hold my T-shirt for me.  I accepted the offer, thanked her, and took off running!  I caught up with the police car tailing the people at the rear of the race.  I passed 3 girls and started to catch up with another.  If you haven't been to Roanoke before, there is one thing that I can tell you....
CRRAAAAZY hilly!!!  But I loved it.  I ran at the top of each hill and then all the way down, and some of the slighter inclines.  I walked going up the hill and caught my breath during this time. 
My husband and the little boy we were babysitting that day showed up in the middle of the race to cheer me on.  I asked how far I was (since there weren't any signs...yuck...hate that!).  He thought I was about half way.  That sounded good to me...no biggy.  Yeah...it was like 5 minutes later that I was sprinting to the finish line.  It was my worst 5K time...but I hadn't trained....or stretched for that matter...in months.  I was very proud of myself though.  I started late and didn't finish last!!!
On a bad note, I got really sick from dehydration and was stuck on the couch for 2 days.  DUM DUM DUM!!! It's so easy to drink water....can't believe I screwed that one up.  But trust me...it's not worth feeling like crap!!!  Just drink your water BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER the race.

The boys tuckered out after the morning race too.  :)  So cute!