3.1 is still too much

Like (I think) I said in my intro post, I hate running!  Don't get me wrong, I love cardio - I'll take hour

long dance fitness classes all day long and love every second of it, but just plain running feels like torture.  Some people say you learn to love it, some people say it gives them time alone with their thoughts & lets them step away from the real world for a bit, some people just enjoy the physical aspect of it.

Absolutely loving this Race T-Shirt!

I am not one of any of them.  Generally when I run a 5k, I spend the first minute thinking this isn't so bad, it almost feels kind of good, maybe today's the day I start to like running, and by about the 5th minute I'm thinking holy crap is this over yet? Why did I talk myself into this again?  Then I inevitably check my watch, realize I'm only about 1/4 the way through (I run about a 28:00-29:00 5k) and I spend the next few minutes thinking how after this one, I'm DONE.  No more 5ks for me, no more forcing myself to do something I hate.  At around the 10 minute mark, I start bargaining with myself (just make it to that stairwell and you can walk for a bit, we'll just run 2 miles and then we can walk the 3rd) - and coming up with reasons why the run feels so bad today (it's so windy, it's too hot out, it's a hillier course than normal, my calves were so tight this morning).  By this time I've usually passed the Mile 2 marker (but not noticed it, because I was too busy thinking about how miserable I am), and I spend the next mile looking desperately around for it.  Somehow the looking around usually winds me up settling into a decent pace and not hating my life so much, and about a mile goes by of peaceful semi-misery before I hit mile 3, try to do that thing where you bust it for the last .1 mile to get across the finish line, and then spend the next 15 minutes positively dying.

But then the most inexplicably glorious thing happens - all of a sudden you start to feel awesome.  Surrounded by a bunch of other miserable runners, all exhausted but high on endorphins, I look at my heart rate monitor and think hell yeah, I did that!

So I keep running 5ks.  I ran my first on January 1, 2013 - Lifetime Fitness' Commitment Day 5k - and since I've done 7 others.  I admit, as a run-hater, my 5k niche is basically the silly, kitschy, theme/obstacle/etc. runs that are pretty non-serious, as far as races go.  These past two weekends, however, I ran two pretty basic 5ks:

• Saturday 11/2 was the 2013 Run of the Dead in the Southwest (Mexicantown) area of Detroit.  The run was in celebration of Dia de Los Muertos, and the course took participants through Detroit's Holy Cross Cemetary (the 10k route went through a second historic cemetery as well).  The highlight of the run was absolutely the loop through the cemetery, where they also had members of the Living Arts Youth Ensemble performing a traditional Danza de la Muerte through the headstones.  It was tough not to stop running just to watch them!  It was a cold, damp, rainy day, but the run was really enjoyable regardless.  At the end they served us bottles of water, traditional tortilla chips from a Mexicantown bakery, and Mexican style cookies!  I finished the run in 28:58.8 (which is about 40 seconds from my PR), and 44th out of the 247 participants, so I wasn't unhappy.  And the Race T-Shirts were lime green and feature an awesome looking traditional sugar skull!!  I'm definitely in love with mine.

The Mustache medals were sooooo cute - and we also got chocolate mustaches
 for finishing!! I gave mine to my BFF Alyssa for coming to cheer me on :)

• Yesterday, 11/9, was the Mustache Dache Detroit.  I admit, there are three things everyone seems to be obsessed with that I just don't get - bacon, Shark Week, and mustaches.  The Movember thing is for a great cause, but I won't ever understand the obsession with it!  However, I had a couple friends who were planning on running this race, and it is a neat idea - plus it started at Atwater Brewery and I love few things more than beer ;)  This race started out extremely rough - the wind was crazy yesterday and for the first 1.5 miles it was basically blowing directly into us - and most of that section of the race was uphill!  I confess about a mile in I started to really think I was just going to walk - I even did, for about a minute or so.  Luckily right after my almost-breakdown, we turned the corner and started doubling back.  Suddenly the wind was at our backs, and the next mile plus of the course was run on almost completely flat ground right along the absolutely beautiful Detroit riverside.  It was sunny, the scenery was gorgeous, and I fell into a nice, steady pace that didn't even make me feel like I was going to die.  That mile and a half was probably the happiest I've ever felt while running.  Thanks to my poor start, I finished with a time of 29:39 - as soon as I saw the finish line and the clock time at almost 30:00 I busted ass to get across it!! While I didn't even come close to my PR time, I was determined to finish under 30 and I did.

After the race we got some seriously cute Mustache Dache medals, and a free beer at Atwater (my best friend had come down with me, so we split a Decadent Chocolate Ale (which was delicious), and a Hop-A-Peel, which was the perfect bitter end to an exhausting race.  I would absolutely do this 5k again!

Following the race, we grabbed some lunch at Slow's BBQ, took a little trip to explore the old Detroit Train Station, and hit up the Red Wings game (even though they lost, I got to see my boy Richard Panik assist on Tampa's winning goal, so it wasn't all for nothing!).

Next it's time to gear up for yet ANOTHER race next weekend - the Hot Chocolate 5k in Columbus!!  Enough already!!

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:  Do you enjoy running?  What makes it tolerable to you or how did you learn to love it?  How do you feel about "trendy" theme 5ks (like color runs, obstacle races, glow runs at night, etc.) vs just plain old running races?