Thanks, Matt

Lately, I have been joking with Matt and telling him that he's rubbed off on me since we've been together. Here are just a few reasons why:

1. One of Matt's favorite foods is pizza. I sometimes believe he could live off of pizza. He once told me that he didn't use to eat it that much. I don't believe it. I, myself, used to not eat pizza that much.
-Now, I actually crave pizza. And not the pizza in D-Hall. REAL pizza.
Thanks, Matt.

2. I used to not eat at Roma's that much. I love going and everything, especially on Friday nights after Varina football games, with the usual people all there as well.
-Now, I can't wait to get home and go to Roma's. And most of the time when I'm home, I end up there at least once. That almost always happens.
Thanks, Matt.

3. Any time we were going to the movies, Matt and I would stop by Dollar Tree. Yes, we're those horrible people that won't pay $3+ for candy at the theater. It was always easy to know what Matt would get 98% of the time: Something Reese's. Or if we would stop at a gas station and get a snack and drink: Pepsi and some form of Reese's. I used to not like peanut butter and chocolate together. Just too rich for me.
-Now, Reese's Pieces are one of my new favorite candies.
Thanks, Matt.
*He still hasn't fully converted me to Pepsi. While I will drink it, I prefer Coke. :)

4. If you've read my previous posts, or know Matt and me at all, you know he ran track for 12 seasons in high school. He was a Legacy Runner, and yes, I like to brag about him =) I never understood how someone could like running so much. It just didn't appeal to me, at all, to participate in. I did end up enjoy going to his meets and watching him run, once I understood what was going on...haha.
-Now, most times I go to the gym, I run 1-2 miles on a regular basis.
Thanks, Matt.


Speaking of running, just recently, I built up that running at the gym and I got up to running 3 miles straight, getting ready for the 10K, which was this past Saturday.
The Tuesday before the 10K was my last day at the gym, believe it or not. I was running on the treadmill and could barely run a mile. I just felt awful and exhausted. I had no motivation and I felt like I physically could not move another muscle in my body. So I straight up just left the gym. I skipped my normal routine of weight machines and ab workout. I just left. First time that's ever happened.

Saturday morning-Day of the 10K.
I woke up at 6:00am not sure whether to be groaning because of how early I was having to wake up or to be excited about participating in the 10K. I leaned more towards excited. That is, until I stepped outside and realized how cold it was! Thankfully, Abby had some extra underarmor that she let me wear under my shirt...best loan ever!

So there we were, standing with our wave group, ready to be sent off. That is, until both Mom and Abby went back a few waves to walk with some friends. I was a little nervous about having to start the race by myself, but it went okay.

Before the 10K, I had made a Running Playlist on my iPOD that I ran to while training in the gym.
My first goal was to finish before Don't Stop Believin' came on, because that song ended at 1.1 hours.
My second goal was to run at least the first mile and the last mile. I would allow myself to walk at any time in the miles in between.

Well, basically, here's just a quick outline of how the 10K went:

During mile 1: not sure that I would be able to finish. It was too cold and I wanted to just lay down and warm up!
See the Mile 1 sign: Ok, that wasn't too bad. I'm just going to run the first two miles since I'm good to go.
See the Mile 2 sign: Well dang, I'm still not feeling too bad. Let's run to Mile 3 so that I can say I ran half of the race without stopping.
See the Mile 3 sign: Well, let's just go a little bit farther..just to get around the u-turn to go back the other way for the second half of the race. On the way to that u-turn, I noticed a water stop right after the turn. I then decide I'm going to run to that water stop, get a quick drink, and walk a bit.
See that water stop: Ehh...let's just grab some water. Maybe that will keep me going until I absolutely can't run any farther.
See the Mile 4 sign: Did I really just run 4 miles without stopping? No way. Ok, well, I'm going to run to Mile 5, since that's where Varina Key Club is handing out water. I'll get some there, then walk a bit.
See the Mile 5 water stop: I think I just want some Powerade. I came this far, let's see just how much farther I can go.
See the Mile 6 sign: Holy freakin crap. REALLY? I just ran SIX miles? How in the WORLD did that happen?? Ok, well, this isn't the end. I have .2 miles left.
...
...
Ok.....where is that finish line?? This is the longest .2 miles EVER!!
See the Finish Line: It's there! It's Right, There! Question is, how do I get there? My legs feel like jelly and I will fall over any minute now.
Crossing the Finish Line: I know I have the biggest smile on my face because I just ran 6.2 miles without stopping, and the most I'd ever run before without stopping was 3 miles.

Never in a million years did I dream that I'd run the entire 10K. That was a HUGE accomplishment for me, if not, the Biggest. I knew I had trained for it, but I knew I didn't train the full distance, so I was expecting to have to walk.
I completed the 10K in 1 hour and 2 minutes. I was THAT close to breaking an hour!! (goal for next year!) Also, it only took me 6 more minutes than my dad to finish it, which is way cool!

I don't know how I had all of the motivation to keep on running. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I would be able to tell everyone, "YES! I RAN the 10k!!!" or Maybe it was because I knew I would be warm again once I got back in the car! or Maybe it had to do with the text I woke up to that morning saying, "Good luck on your race. I hope you do great, cause I know you will do great."
Thanks, Matt