The Great Race of Agoura Hills- Deena Kastor 5k

Yesterday Andy and I ran our very first 5k! We decided to run the Deena Kastor 5k at The Great Race of Agoura Hills. The great race is compromised of 2 different half-marathons, a 10k, 5k, kids run and a fun run. (The kid's and the fun run are a mile each.) It was a beautiful day outside for a run. My only complaint would be the wind. It was pretty intense but typical for the area of California we live in.



Andy, my sister Sarah (our photographer) and I arrived early at the 5k start point.



We were both feeling a little nervous but excited.


And how cute is it that our numbers are in sequence?

I'm so thankful that Sarah was willing to get up early to cheer us on. Sarah will be running a 5k with us in April.


Tons of kids ran the 5k too! (Most of them beat us!)

The wind knocked the big blue arch down. Fail.
At 8:50am, we took our spots in the middle of the group. About 1200 people ran in this particular race. It was CRAZY! Pretty soon it was over and I met up with Andy, my sister and my dad. Andy finished in 33:01 and I was 37:23. We were both pretty excited. I was expecting Andy to do 35 mins and for myself to do 42 mins. (I'm insanely slow!) During the run a woman ran beside me and said, "Let's do this together! We can finish this last mile strong!" We paced each other and did the walk/run thing. I walked a lot more than I would have liked but it was totally worth it.



My dad finished his half-marathon in 1:58:27! And he looked fantastic afterwards. I am so jealous of him but excited to finally be running races! I've got to be honest I was hoping that the walk/run thing would save me any knee/heel pain but I'm hurting a ton. I was limping last night! I am planning to take a few days off running, seeing a doctor and then getting right back to training for my next 5k. I plan on finishing in under 35 minutes next time! I've got to thank Mari for all of her support during my 5k training. It's great to have someone to talk to about everything! I'm excited to start training myself on speedwork. I'm thrilled about a 12 min mile and not ashamed at all. I know I'm slow but I'm also 30 lbs heavier than I'd like to me, a new runner and relatively weak (I need some muscles, yo!) I can't wait to see myself improve and change over time. I'll let Andy take it from here and share his story. I'm so proud of him! (We ran together for 10 minutes until I decided to let him go his own pace.)


Andy:HI! The 5K was sort of amazing. Amanda didn't mention that running the 5K with us was a Polish Olympic athlete. I tried to stay up with him, but he pulled away at the end. He finished under 15 minutes...so maybe he pulled away from me at the start.

I was stoked with my time since really I have only been running for about 6 months. We are playing to run again in the end of April so I'm hoping for a sub 10 minute mile pace. I was at 10:39 on this, and I think I can do better.

However, things might change. I have some severe neck pain(not due to running, an old injury that I never got checked out which is coming to haunt me). I have an MRI on Monday. Doctor said surgery is a possibility so we shall see.

The expo at the end was pretty sweet. The good people at Dole (who sponsors the event) had banana, raisins, pineapple juice, and mandarins. Whole foods was there making crepes and pancakes. A local bagel place was giving away bagels. It was the 25th anniversary of the event, so everyone got a really sweet medal. Totally a fun day! I never thought I would like running, but I totally love it!

Next time Amanda and I will have to hold hands as we finish. Really piss everyone off. AMAZING.

Amanda again: Thanks everyone for your constant support! It means so much to us. I can't wait till the next 5k!