My first 5K Race!

I used to be a runner. Like a serious, long-distance runner.

I've run a few 10Ks & Half-Marathons and two Full Marathons {that's 42.2km & 26 miles of RUNNING for those inquiring minds}.

But I've never run a 5K race. Until this past Saturday!

Since becoming pregnant with EZ -- and let's face it -- since I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2006, I haven't really run. I had a bad race way back then {which I spoke about here}. Since this summer, I started training on my own, with friends, and then with a free Learn to Run clinic. It was awesome to be part of the running community again!

My good friend CC and I completed a 5K race together yesterday! She's awesome! It was a great experience. 

 It was a CHILLY start to the day, so here we are at the start line all bundled up. Then about 3 mins before the race started, it miraculously warmed up -- but I was all ready to go in my jacket! So I just kept it on!

Then about half-way through, I couldn't take the heat and I had to slip my jacket off. I stupidly pinned my number to my jacket, so I had to re-pin the number to my shirt while I was running. Silly Mummy! But it was worth it to cool off a bit!

Here we are at the finish line! Thanks CC for pulling me through and encouraging me to finish strong! We finished almost 8 mins faster than we planned, so we were BEYOND thrilled with our time!

The race was overall well-organized and was on a trail - which I'm not used to running on, but it was fun! There was even a Firefighter water station! Did I mention it was an all-women race?

There were good treats at the finish line, including a bananas, chips, and even Cadbury Dairy Milk Thin chocolate bars, but alas, I couldn't eat that because it's a milk product! I {heart} being a VEGAN! 

On that note, November 1st is National VEGAN Day! 
I encourage you to make ONE meal a VEGAN one! 
Being vegan is not that hard - be mindful of your food. 

Don't eat anything with a FACE or a MOTHER :) Simple as that!