I had absolutely no plans to sign up for the Lake Eola 5k, let alone races for two weekends in a row. But I kinda had to. First off, I was going to be at the race any way because my bestie from the westie was running the OUC Half marathon and second, they had a medal this year! Sounds reasonable right?
A 5k usually isn’t a big deal for me, but since my last 5k race in September I had run all of ZERO times. Great job Meghan! Between work, my various messed up body parts, and life in general I just hadn’t bee running. Oh well! Even if I had to walk the whole thing I was prepared to do so.
Lita and I arrived with plenty of time to catch up with some folks before heading to our respective races. Once Lita was headed off on her 13.1 mile adventure I left my bag with the Best Damn Race crew and headed to the corral for the 5k. I was dressed head to toe in holiday gear, so at the very least I was going to LOOK like I was having fun.
But did I have fun? I sure did! The race went WAY better than I anticipated. I ran for the first 5 minutes straight and then switched to my intervals. I actually made it until around 2.5 miles before my body told me that I needed to start walking more than running, but I was okay with that. I didn’t PR by any means, but I enjoyed the race and felt good when I finished.
I spent the next 2 hours hanging out with my fellow BDR ambassadors talking to people about the races, enjoying some mid-morning beer, and just enjoying the morning. One of the best parts about doing this race was that I was able to wait for Lita at the finish line and get some photos. She had a 3+ minute PR for the half marathon, so she was pretty excited.
Post-half marathon we had some beer, caught up with friends, and then made our way to breakfast. You can’t do races in downtown Orlando and NOT have breakfast at Se7en Bites. It is the ONLY way to celebrate a job well done!
Next up on my race schedule is my final race of 2018 – the Give Kids the World Challenge for Hope 5k! I am super excited about this race and you still have time to join my team or make a donation. I am only $95 from my goal of raising $500.
