old friends, new adventures

the dream team. ;)

so i did it. finished my first 5K. i kinda can't believe it. not because i didn't think i could or because i wanted to win or something, i just know i never would have done this a year ago, and if i had, i would have hated every second of it. but i loved it. and i want to do it again. 

jenn, sarlo, ksteele, me

some of mine and kyle's closest friends got into knoxville friday night. we hung out and stayed up a little too late considering we were planning to rise early the next day for this crazy commitment we made, but we just missed each other and wanted to chat and laugh. chris has done plenty of races and was super ready, and his enthusiasm made me more excited. on saturday morning, we starting stirring around 6 a.m. we were all groggy and giggling at how early it was and how absurd it was that we, of all people, were all up so early and actually excited about it. we put on our lycra, had a snack and loaded up with our water bottles and tunes ready. we arrived to perfect weather and hundreds of people who have probably all been there since the time we got up stretching and being a little too serious about the whole thing. it was funny to observe something none of us (except chris and andy) had ever done. we got our tshirts and numbers, snapped some silly photos and got in line. i was weirdly nervous and my stomach felt a little butterfly-y, but i was excited to do something new and do it with some of my favorite people.

get it, people.

there's something about an event like this that makes you go harder than you normally go. i pushed myself more and loved listening to pumped up songs with one earbud, while the other one hung out so i could listen and watch the others running with me (or past me) as we went along. i would run for as long as my lungs or shins would let me, then walk for a bit, then start again. usually, i would run until there was a little uphill part, then walk up the hill and start again once it was more level. the only bad part of the 3.1 miles was at mile 2 being handed a cup of powerade instead of water. it was too late once i realized it, and i wasn't going to turn back and be like "oh sorry i wanted water, please." i only took two drinks of it, and after that felt so sick. never again. water all the way.

afterward with red faces and sweaty hair

i finished 18th out of 22 in my age division (not last!), and 508th out of 598 (still not last!) overall. my chiptime was 39:33, which was under 40 minutes, which is what i was aiming for considering the time i was averaging per mile when i run at home. no, this isn't a "good" time, but for me it is. i was averaging a 14 minute mile before the race, but averaged about a 12 minute one the day of the race. so i think that's pretty exciting, and makes me want to keep going and getting better. chris, of course, beat us all. kyle came in second, i was third, jennifer was fourth, kristin was fifth and sarina was sixth. andy held our bags for us and waited at the finish line. (thanks, andy!)

it was so fun to do this with them because we can all just do our own thing and goof off and not take anything too seriously. it was just about doing something different together, and it was a plus that it was something good for us. 

we hung around afterward and got the rita's italian ices they were passing out, then packed our sweaty butts home to rest for a second before going to breakfast at the fountain city diner. very fun and delicious. 

because we got up so early, we had a lot of time to do different things for the rest of our saturday. we walked downtown a lot at a festival they were having and got food from the savory & sweet food truck. we got told off by a security guard because we were standing by a museum eating a funnel cake and apparently that's not allowed. we had beer and played pool at the brewery, then went to dinner at sunspot. back at home, we played mad gab and laughed a lot.

one of the several pics stolen from kristin's instagram. ;)

sarina & kjd

not drunk. just singing or something. lol

jenny with kristin's glasses. lovely. :)

on sunday, i woke up with some sore gams and had to stretch before i got out of bed. we all went to knoxlife for church then had brunch at tomato head. the friends headed back to wv after that, and just like always when people leave, the house goes all quiet and weird for a while. i loved having all of them here, piling up in the floor on the air mattress and joking around. i miss having my good friends around, because no matter who i meet in other places, those are the people i will really want to spend my time with. 

bright tees & hipster glasses. the best. :) 

action shot. lol

oh, christopher. 

anyway. one more time -- i really loved the 5K, and i'm looking forward to more. i would love to do the color run, and as scary as the warrior dash looks, it also looks super freaking fun.

here's to good friends, new things and sore legs. 

love.

krq.