HSB Goes...RUNNING!

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a new series on the blog that we will refer to as "HSB Goes..." The plan is for HSB to try new adventures from time to time and report back to our blog readers! For our first "HSB Goes" adventure, we participated in a local 5K run in support of breast cancer that was held this past Sunday.

Before we get into all of the dirty details, let me start by giving a little bit of background to how we got to this point. About three weeks before the 5K, I met up with S and B for lunch at one of our favorites, the Pizza Hut lunch buffet. As we sat around the table stuffing ourselves with pizza, B brought up a goal that she had of running a 5K. She had started running in April and was hoping to get a 5K in before the weather got too cold. Believe it or not, I had already successfully completed two 5K races before, so I agreed to join B for the run. Stonf, on the other hand, wanted no parts of the running because, according to her, she has "weak ankles." LOL Instead, she agreed to come out and cheer the two of us on the day of the race.

Flash forward three weeks and B and I find ourselves standing outside in forty degree weather waiting to run 3.2 miles. B was nervous but was feeling prepared, but me, not so much. Even though I had ran two previous 5K races, one thing was different for me this time around. My first two races I had trained pretty extensively in order to survive them...for this race, the last time I had officially ran was back in July! I do go to the gym about 3-4 times a week, but lately, instead of running I have been putting in about 2.5 miles on the elliptical machine. I was about to find out that working out on the elliptical does NOT equal running 3.2 miles on pavement!

Stonf showed up with our cheering squad before the race got started. She was nice enough to take these very flattering pictures of us stretching before the big race! (insert sarcasm here)

Soon after we finished stretching, the time had come for us to head over to the starting line. As you can see from the pictures below, B was very serious about her starting position, while it looks like I had decided to take a seat right on her head (I promise its just a bad angle and I did not actually stick my bum in B's face!)

And...WE ARE OFF AND RUNNING!

Stonf did a great job of cheering us on at the beginning of the race, even holding up homemade signs that she had created especially for race day

But, as the picture below proves, her excitement soon started to fade by about 30 minutes into the race...leaving her wondering where the heck we were (in our defense, we never claimed to be fast!)

Soon after, B was seen making her way through the finish line...she did it!!

And a couple of minutes after B, I finally crossed the finish line. Although, I have to admit that unlike B, I wasn't running in victory through the finish line...Instead, I could be heard saying "I am so done with this race! OVER IT!" haha

In the end, it may not have been my best 5K performance but what counts is that we both finished the race and even more importantly, the race raised money for a very good cause. I also wanted to end with a quick shout out to B...you did awesome and Stonf and I are super proud of you! Goal accomplished!!

Have you ever ran a 5K or accomplished a goal that you had set for yourself? Tell us about it in the comments!