5K Race Day Essentials

As much as I would like to call myself a "new" runner, I have actually been running 5Ks for over 10 years. Intermittently, that is. Times sure have changed since I was just doing the annual charity walk/run with my mom's company. There are so many more high-tech devices that some people deem "essential" for their runs. However, the basic core of running has remained (mostly) the same.

Here is my list of what I think are the 6 Essentials you need to have a great time on Race Day!

1. Good shoes
This is the most expensive thing you need, but also the most important. Consider it an investment. I've run on old shoes that were in bad shape, and they gave me shin splints. I've also bought lighter shoes that actually shaved time off my pace.

My current shoes (and faves so far) are Nike Lunarglide +4. I have hideous all-bright blue ones since those were on sale (pictured above).

2. At least a month of training
Not many people can just up and run 3.1 miles without having at least run a bit for practice lately. Trust me, I tried. About 4 years ago I signed up for a race thinking, "Hey, I'm young and in good shape and do the occasional elliptical workout; how hard can this be?" The answer: very hard. After a mile into the race, my body revolted and I almost vomited, fainted, and shat myself all in the course of a few minutes. Luckily, none of those things happened, but all I could think was, "Why did I pay good money to feel so miserable?"

So get out and run a bit. I especially urge you to get off the treadmill to the great outdoors and do a bit more than 3.1 miles in training a few days before the race, and you'll find a 5K isn't so bad!

3. Proper Running Form
I'm no running coach, but I don't know why so many girls my age flail their arms outward like a flippin' T-Rex when they run. I see at least one of these gals every time I hit the trail. Put your arms by your side with your hands in loose fists with thumbs on top. Move your arms front to back while you look ahead of you. It ain't rocket surgery. Here's a good tutorial from Runner's World on proper form.

Also, lose the smartphone in your hand or get an armband. Actually, for a race, I definitely say to just lose the phone and wear a watch if you want. (Remember those things??)

4. A Buddy
Races are just more fun with a friend. I know this one first-hand as well. I won my age group at a race I went to alone while my husband stayed with our toddler back at home. I walked up, got my trophy, and then had to take a selfie in my car of me and the trophy. Cue sad trombone. At least my Facebook friends cared.

Putting on a happy face. Can't you tell I was actually crying on the inside?

So bring your husband, your sister, your bestie, your mom, or whomever. If they don't want to do the race, then that's fine too. And you luck out because you now have someone cheering you on at the finish line and someone to hold your keys.

With my favorite cheering squad

5. Extra Pins and Twist Ties
Just keep a little baggie of these in your car, mostly for races that where you check in the day of the event. Maybe it's because my last name is at the end of the alphabet, but I have totally been screwed over before. I was once given on safety pin and no twist ties for the shoe chip, and when I asked for each the volunteer had no idea where the extras were. That did not get me in the best mindset before race time.

6. A Positive Attitude
Races are fun! That's why people do them! If you're going into the experience dreading it, or because your wife dragged you along (*ahem* to my husband), you're probably going to have a bad time. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what your finish time is, but whether or not you enjoyed it. Raising money for a charity you believe in can also help you push yourself in new ways.


Is there anything you would add to this list?

Skirtember: Week One Recap

Hey, did you know it's Skirtember? My grand plan is to wear a skirt or dress every single day of the month of September.

Linking up with some flirties in skirties

Let's check in and see how I've been doing.

The month started out easy enough. The first was a Sunday, so I wore my jersey LBD to church.

Easy breezy not too sleazy.

Then the next day was Labor Day, and I went up to my in-laws' lake house. I looked cute with some ruffles.

Then it went downhill. We just bought a house, and it needs a ton of work! We're still living at our apartment 20 minutes away because of how much work it needs. So I was going over to the house every day and working on stuff while Cora took a nap in her pack-n-play over there. My outfits definitely started to suffer, starting on Day 3.

I was spending most of my time up on a step-stool/ladder thingy removing wallpaper borders and after a day of that it was clear I needed real shoes with real soles. Hence, Day 4.

Day 5: more manual labor. I just gave up on this with the house stuff.

However, I came back home, took a shower, and looked pretty cute by the time B got home from work! (And my feet are always cold, hence the socks.)

Day 6: Toddler Story Time at the library. Read: I have to sit on the floor.
Leggings to the rescue! With my red and black look, back in Georgia they would have said I looked very "gameday" (yep, it's an adjective).

The shoes I wore that day were cute, too.

(from my archives)

Well, they were cute and comfortable until I hit about the 3-hour mark shopping for a dress for a wedding. (Never did find a dress.) It seems one of my biggest issues with wearing a skirt every day has been the shoes.

Day 7: Painting at the house. I give up for the blasted house. I have no skirts I care to paint in. T-shirt and basketball shorts I've had since high school win the day.

B and Cora were away for the weekend (my first time without the tot!), so I got home from painting, took a shower, put on my PJ's and watched the Dawgs play. Sorrynotsorry.

Day 8: Back in the saddle.

It was Sunday again, and I think I made up for the day before by wearing FOUR different outfits throughout the course of the day. This dress to mass, some painting clothes to work on the house in. Then I went to something touristy downtown (it was free that day!), so I changed into my LBD from last Sunday for that. And then workout clothes when I went running right before sunset. Whew!

This week it's more house stuff for me, so we'll see what happens.

All pictures in this post are courtesy of self-timer. :-/

What I Wore Sunday (Football, Skirts, Contact Paper)

First off, happy September! This month means a few things:

1. Football is in full swing! I stayed up late to watch my beloved Georgia Bulldogs fall short of Clemson. At least it was a good game, right?

I found this football book for Cora at the library:

See how happy she is with her book??

That is, UNTIL we got to the letter F.

Whomp whomp.

Yes, the only picture of my team in the entire book is of our player fumbling the ball. I should probably just take this thing back to the library and be glad I didn't waste actual money on it.


2. September is the month of Skirtember! Hey, if the boys can have 'Movember' to grow nasty moustaches (I hate those things, by the way), why can't we have something, too? Today I chose my casual LBD with some extra stuff.

Black and brown, yessirree
Dress: Liz Lange Maternity from Target (nope, not preggers today!) // Cardigan and belt: Charlotte Russe // Cami bra: Maidenform // Sandals: Merona from Target

Outfit is just a re-worked version of this old thing. In that post, I discussed taking Cora to mass by myself and Chick-Fil-A. Well, today I also took Cora to mass by myself, and I also wanted to share with everyone that you can get FREE breakfast at Chick-Fil-A by going to make a reservation right here. Now you can't say I never gave you nothin', right? Except for those of you unfortunate enough not live near any of these delicious chicken biscuits. You should probably move.

3. Not sure how much this has to do with September, but we worked all day at our new house yesterday. I painted the pantry. Why does a pantry need to be painted, you ask? The short answer: because the previous owners were slobs.

My MIL and I also removed a ton of contact paper the previous week, including from the pantry. I have no idea why anyone feels the need to put contact paper onto laminate shelves, which are basically waterproof on their own, but I think these people (or possibly the owners before them) were addicted to the sticky stuff.

Here's your first before-and-after pic from our house.
Contact paper on the left shelf, removed on the right.

And you see how scratched up the wall behind the shelf is? Yeah, I tried to clean it, but it was a no-go. We found some paint in the basement, and I went for it. My FIL took out some of the shelves for painting, but the big one was just a bit too much so I worked around it. The built-ins are very nice (sans contact paper), so this was a fine solution for me.

Wall is scratchy!! Paint looks less green in real life.

Sorry, no complete after pics yet because we didn't have time to get all the shelves in. But soon! I'm happy at least one room in the house is done, even if it is just going to house all my food.

4. Extra pic of Cora because she did great at mass and looks cute today:

We all look cute today.