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!

Foot pain

March has been an interesting month...to say the least. I feel incredibly lucky that nothing has gone terribly wrong, all things considered.

Right now I'm attempting to ice both my right knee and my right foot at the same time. It's harder than you might think.



Nature's Path Pumpkin Granola is the best thing ever. Buy it in bulk at Costco now. You will not be disappointed.



Same with Naked Juice's Green Machine. I started buying this in bulk too since I am way too lazy to make a green smoothie.



This flavor of Yoplait was okay...if you like high fructose corn syrup. I won't buy it again. My local grocery store doesn't sell greek yogurt. I have to travel to get it! :(



And Cuties! I buy these in bulk too. They are great!



What I am really excited about...my new Brooks Ariels!

I got mine in Gray at a local running store.

It was such a great experience that I wanted to share my story with you. Recently, I started training for my first 5k (as most of you know.) Training is going okay but I struggle with pain in my right knee. Slowly but surely the pain in my right knee needed a friend and my heel started hurting as well. I chalked it up to plantar fasciitis and continued to run with my $40 crappy running shoes. Eventually after talking to Mari about it, I decided to go find some new shoes.

The lady at the running store had me walk barefoot in the store while she watched me. I didn't mention my heel or knee pain and she looked at me and told me to sit down.

"You favor your left side. Do you have any trouble with your right leg, knee or foot?" She asked.

Then she had me try on about 3 different pairs of shoes before having me run with them on. She watched me run and suggested the Brooks shoe because they can help with my motion control issues.



I also got the shoes in a giant size. 9.5!!! I usually wear 8.5. She explained that the biggest size would be better and showed me how much toe room I should have. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who knew a ton about shoes, running and foot pain.

And yes, I still pain on seeing a doctor if the shoes don't help. Andy and I ran outside today and I felt great until the last 1/2 mile. Now my right foot hurts along the arch. Lovely.

Andy and I will be running the 5k on March 27th. My dad is running the half marathon beforehand and it will be nice to cheer him on while accomplishing one of my 2010 goals. I am worried that my 5k time will be really slow (I'm thinking 42 minutes. Not even kidding.) So promise not to laugh when I post my results.

Runners: Do you remember your first 5k? What was your time? Did you have to train for it or not?

What kind of shoes do you run/walk/workout in?