Tips for a Successful 5k.

I have a love/hate relationship with 5k's. Or maybe not just 5k's. Maybe running in general. Or, you know, exercising. That's probably it. But I feel that I am somewhat justified. Exercising hurts. I mean, sure, you feel great afterwards, but you don't feel great when you're doing it. It's like food. Put squash and spinach on a plate. I don't care how healthy it is or how it's going to make me live an extra five years or how it's going to give me clearer skin or stronger fingernails (can food really do that?). If it doesn't taste good, I'm not going to eat it. It's simply not worth it. Granted, if it tastes good and it's healthy, I'm all over it. If it just tastes good, I'll splurge. If it's just healthy and has no taste benefits whatsoever, I'm just not doing it. But I think that's fair enough. Food is supposed to taste good, right? But anyways. Back to the 5k thing.

So this morning I ran a 5k with some of my dearest friends. We ran our first 5k together during the fall of our freshman year and a tradition was born. And about my love/hate relationship with them . . I think that's due to the fact that I almost passed out at the end of my first 5k. It made me a wee bit skeptical of the whole race thing. But last spring, I ran another one, just to prove to myself that I could, in fact, run 3.1 miles without passing out. And guess what, I felt just fine. That was exciting.

And then this morning, I felt fantastic. Here's what I learned about the best way to run a 5k:

#1: If you have jingle bells on your shoes, you will run faster.
#2: If you drink lots of cranberry sierra mist and eat lots of puppy chow the night before, you will have lots of energy on race day.
#3: If you sing really loudly on the way to the race, you will be in a better mood.
#4: If you and your three running buddies all wear the same t-shirt, you will feel more unified.
#5: If Santa Claus is present, you will have that much more of a motivation to run fast so that you can impress him.
#6: If you sing the chorus of "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock while you're running, you will be more entertained.
#7: If you run with your camera and take pictures every time you pass by reflective windows, that half hour of running will go that much faster.
#8: If you provide a commentary of the race by video-taping yourself and your friends as you run, you will keep yourself light-hearted, giggly, and way too excited. Also, people running around you will look at you like you've lost your mind. Which you probably deserve.


BEST 5K EVER.