Running Update for 2013 ( warning it's long)

I have done 5 races this year before I had to give up running for the rest of the year. In Feb I was able to take the place of someone else at the last minute and participate in Mardi Gras Mambo 10K in Baton Rouge, LA. The Mardi Gras Mambo was by far the hardest race I have run thus far. It was a beast to run against the wind while running up the levee hill. It was so rewarding to finish though! I had a blast!

The next race was in the town of Hammond,LA. I participated in the Rotary's yearly Shamrock Run which I started calling the Hamrock Run out of habit! This race wasn't as exciting but still it felt good to just be out there running! The food afterwards was delicious! They had jambalaya, Raising Canes, and VooDoo Barbeque! I ate VooDoo. It was YUMMY!!!! I was scheduled to run a 5K in Baton Rouge again at LSU but I got sick and couldn't run :(

Next came the annual Crescent City Classic. Now for those who "follow" my blog this race may sound familiar. This was the very first race of my running goal that began last year. My goal this year was to beat my time last year, 1:13:32 which I did but just barely. It counts in my book though. I finished this year's race in 1:11:17. I was very fortunate to ride to New Orleans with some pretty great girls and we all finished within 5 minutes of each other. This year they gave out finisher medals too because it was the 35th Anniversary of when the Crescent City Classic began. As a result there were a ton of people at the race and it was really hot. We were all pretty exhausted after the race but we still had a good time.

Before the race (SELFIES)

KJ and I waiting to start

My few right before I finished.

Our Crew After We FINISHED!

Fat Boy 5K was a team run race! I went with my BF KJ, her husband, brother in law and their family friend. It was a new race for us that we had never heard of. We decided to do it because at the end of the race you got a chocolate donut medallion. Who wouldn't want a chocolate donut medallion after a little run? The answer is nobody so we all signed up. The cool thing about this race was that if you had a team of at least 5 people you could compete for a team trophy which is what we decided to do. This run took place in May. We called ourselves Team Panda so naturally the other teams were terrified by us ;) Thankfully the boys ran pretty quickly so KJ and I could bring up the rear without really worrying about our time. We were pleased to hear the folks announce Team Panda as 1st place in the 5 team division and 4th place overall! It was a fun race and it turned out to be a beautiful day in New Orleans! We also got these really cool mugs for winning!

Holding our "trophy"

KJ and Me before the race began. yes we are matching!

Team Panda All The Way!

My final run of the year was the GLEAUX Run race in Baton Rouge. It was a 5k race around downtown Baton Rouge. We ran down and around the capitol etc. I wasn't impressed with this race at all because the people in charge of it were rude and the cops were even worse. Not to mention according our individual Nike apps the race wasn't actually a full 5k race. It was super annoying to our group of people who ran it. However, the concept was cool. The object was for you to wear things that would glow in the dark while you ran. Well it was a summer race at the beginning of July and it didn't start to get dark enough to see our attire until after the entire race was over. Poor planning on their part but it was fun to get together with our little running group and just run for fun! This unfortunately was the last run I would run this year. :(

KJ and me 

My "normal" super hero pose :)

Jesica and Ashley afterwards...

My celebratory dinner! PANDA EXPRESSS

Before and After (some of the running gang)

I began training in August to run my first half marathon in October. I was stoked and so excited to finally be able to run a half marathon which is something I wanted to do since I ran the Crescent City Classic last year. Well in between training for the run, doing a workout program called Tap Out and trying to juggle school my poor little body decided to shut down. Every time I ran my legs would begin to cramp up and literally stop working. I would have to sit down or hobby until the feeling would come back in there. After consulting with my cousin, who is an athletic trainer, and my running friends I decided it was best to put running on hold. This meant not being able to compete in the half marathon in October. This to say the least was really upsetting for me and I had a hard time dealing with not being able to run anymore. Running was my way of relieving stress and letting go of everything that has/was bothering me. After some great encouragement from my awesome friends I was able to come to terms with it and just began doing lighter exercises so that my body would still stay in decent shape but not be so overworked that it shut down again.

Fast forward to last Monday when I decided since the school semester was basically over I would try running again. I decided to start off with just running 1 mile near the house so in case something happened Wendy would be able to come rescue me. I am pleased to report that I was able to run a full mile without any problems and I did it 11:32. Which to some people isn't an accomplishment but for me, because I hadn't run since August, was a great accomplishment to me. I plan to continue to work my way up to at least 5K status again and then we will see if perhaps after graduation I can finally run my half marathon. I already have a race scheduled for January 4th! It is a 5k so let's cross our fingers that my body can handle it!

PHEW! That was the longest post known to man. Thanks for sticking through it.. (if you did)