Color Me Rad 5k and 100 Miler Prep

I had a pretty fun weekend! It started out with having friends over Friday for a pizza party! I made some pizza dough and sauce from scratch (pretty easy, actually!) and then prepped a bunch of fun toppings for everyone to pick from. I had spinach, mushrooms, red peppers, garlic, pepperoni, bacon, tomatoes, and yellow squash. I only snapped a picture of the pizza my guy friends made (covered in plenty of meat and not many veggies), but mine was a yummy pizza with lots of veggies.

Nom!

Sunday, John and I got up early (for us on a Sunday!) to pick up some friends and head to the Color Me Rad 5k in near the Please Touch Museum. I was really excited for the race and wanted to see what kind of pace I could maintain for a 5k since I'm not really in speed-running shape. We were in the first wave and I made sure to have us start off in the front so I could run ahead of the people who would be walking or casually running.

Post-race with some college girlfriends

The race was fun and I ran the beginning of it with John! When we got to the color stations, since I was one of the first people to them, the volunteers were a bit timid and didn't know what to do. I definitely didn't end up with as much color as I thought I'd have on me by the end. Also, when I got to the finish, I looked down at my watch and saw it was at 18:20. I knew immediately the course was majorly short and after mapping it out at home, the course was only 2.6 miles! I ended up averaging 7:03 min/mile pace, which I'm shocked I was able to maintain. Wish it had been a full 5k so I could have seen if a PR was possible for me.

Before and after with the BF

Now the nerves are starting to begin; my 100 miler is now just 5 short days away! I've actually been trying to not think about it for as long as possible so I wouldn't get myself nervous, but now it's time to plan things out and get excited. I've got three awesome friends to pace me during the latter part of the race and I've got my travel and lodging situation all figured out.

The thing that is getting me nervous is that I'm attempting to run 100 miles. Just typing that out was scary! When I first heard about ultras and running 100 mile races, I knew I'd want to attempt it at some point, but didn't realize I'd try it so soon. The thing about a race of that distance is that it is truly so much larger and bigger than you. Whenever I meet anyone who has finished or even attempted a 100 miler, they automatically have a ton of respect from me. It's such a large feat to attempt and to have the courage and nerve to even attempt it is something I didn't think I'd ever have; I still don't feel confident that I 100% do. I am confident that I'm going to put one foot in front of the other for as long as is safe until I cross the finish line and join the league of 100 mile finishers. Hopefully my next post will be a successful race report!