Race #1 - Grants Pass 10K (Grants Pass, OR) 1:26:10

So Alissa says to me one day out of the blue, "I think we should run in that race they are advertising in town." There were posters all over for the Grants Pass 1/2 marathon, 10K and 5K to be held November 15th. Only three problems. 1) Uh, neither of us run. I have jogged on the treadmill for 5 min at a time tops, but nothing of any distance. We love to exercise together, including weight lifting, but running on the treadmill is a whole different beast. 2) We signed up 1 week before race day. That doesn't give us much time to get prepared in any way shape or form for running 6.2 miles. 3) We know absolutely nothing about running!

I tried by best to talk her out of it, or at least talk her into doing some training and signing up for another race, but it was useless. She had her mind made up. Before I knew it, I was signing up for a 10K! Me....the "fat girl" who never even got to take gym in high school because her doctor thought she wasn't "healthy enough" for daily exercise! That same girl who walked into the Club to meet a Personal Trainer in January, and couldn't even walk on the treadmill without severe pain! We paid our dues, and picked up our packets with free shirts, free running gloves, etc. Not really thinking that we would "go through" with it, I laughed and thought to myself, "well, at least I get a free shirt and some nice gloves. I signed up....that is enough gumption for me. Race morning...at Alissa's house,
we stretched and tried to pretend we knew what we were doing. WE HAD NO IDEA! I still couldn't believe I was really going through with it. At the park, I thought, "okay, I signed up, got up early, and wore the shirt....I am done...I already won!" But I wasn't getting away! It was obvious that we were newbies, but it sure was fun. The race shot fired, and off we went! Remember, we had no no formal or routine training - except this one thing...WE DO NOT GIVE UP EASILY! Pure GUMPTION drove us the entire 6.2 miles. We set a goal to keep a 15 minute-mile pace - what we knew we could do on a treadmill. The race began on the trails of the Reinhart Volunteer Park on the Rogue River. Shortly after that, my right foot went numb, and it felt like I was running on a stub! Between that, and using areas of my lungs never-before breathed with, I think my body was learning how to function all over again! The run went down Lower River Road and back through the park. I was always just a few paces behind Alissa, and she kept pushing me and encouraging me not to quit. At the finish line, Alissa started jogging in place, and I wondered what she was doing... when I got there, she grabbed my hand, and we crossed the finish line together. Our final time was 1:26:10! That was better than we thought we were capable of! We even surprised Alissa's son and parents who came to wait for us at the park entrance 15 minutes after we had finished. It was such a fun experience....and to those of you who are wondering....yes we have plans to do it again! I am waiting for more pics from her parents, but for now, here is one of us in the parking lot before the race began. It was a balmy 43 degrees!

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