Friday Five: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week

TGIF! This week was quite the doozy so the weekend is much appreciated! John is away for the weekend so I'll be keeping myself busy with a 5K on Saturday and my sister's baby sprinkle on Sunday. I'm hoping to squeeze in some relaxing and housework in between all those! Before I finish off this work day, I'm sharing my Friday Five with you!

1. Termini Brothers Bakery Cannolis

While eating lunch in Philly on Sunday, I realized we were within walking distance of the bakery we were getting our wedding cake from, Termini Brothers. The cake is part of our package so we don't really know much about them except the cake we've tried at a bridal show is amazing and everyone raves about their cannolis. After some {read: none} convincing, we went and grabbed some cannolis at the bakery. Let me just say that it was the best darn cannoli I have ever had tasted. We went with the classic ricotta cannoli which had the creamiest filling with delicious chocolate chips. I am now counting down the days until we go back to the bakery for our cake tasting so I can buy more! If you're the Philly area, look up the different locations and check one out!

2. OPI Nail Polish- You're Such a Budapest

I've had this nail polish for years and it will forever be my favorite! My old roommate and I used to jokingly call it my "engagement nail polish" because I wanted to be wearing it when I got engaged {I was not actually wearing it when John proposed but I've since learned that any colors other than grey and nude clash with my ring so it's all good!}. Now that sandal weather is here, I painted my toe nails with it on Tuesday and I forgot how pretty it is! OPI is quality nail polish because it stays on well!

3. Tribe Vanilla Bean Hummus

If you remember awhile back, I wrote about Tribe's dark chocolate hummus in a Friday Five. This week I tried the vanilla bean flavor because it was on sale and let me tell you, it's tasty! The container suggests pairing it with a banana which I tried and liked, but it's also good with pretzels. I'm sure it would also pair well with strawberries, animal crackers, and graham crackers! I even mixed it with the dark chocolate hummus paired with pretzels on day for lunch and it was delicious!

4. Google Keep

At a Google training for work a few weeks back {we use Chromebooks so everything is Google-based in my school}, a coworker shared a cool feature through Google that is an online to do list with reminders called Google Keep. Being the organizing freak I am, I instantly started using it. Google Keep allows you to make multiple to do lists for anything your little heart desires! I currently have a general work to do list, a person to do list, and an IEP writing to do list. You can even pin the most important ones to the top if you have a lot of different lists.

I promise it’s more appetizing than it looks! This is the shredded chicken mixed with buffalo sauce. 

5. Shredded Chicken

I've been in a lunch rut lately so I decided to take some action on Sunday. I brought a package of frozen chicken over to my mom's and cooked it in her Instapot. I then used a hand mixer to shred it up and BAM! lunches for the week! I have done something different with the chicken each day! One day I added some pasta sauce and cheese to make chicken parm and another day I added garlic buffalo sauce for a buffalo chicken bowl. The possibilities have been endless!

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

Volunteering at a Race

On Saturday I finally crossed something off my 19 in 2019 list as well as my Bucket List: volunteer at a race. After 6 years of running races {close to 50 races total!}, I have always wanted to volunteer at a race for two reasons. 1. Running and races have done a lot for me so giving back just makes sense and 2. I wanted to know what it was like to be on the volunteering side of race day. I chose the Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 5K/15K as my first because I had been a runner at it a few times before and I knew it was a fun race. Somehow I even managed to get John and my friend, Rachel, to volunteer with me! Today I am sharing with you some details of my experience and what I learned!

With a report time of 5:45 am, an early wake up call was necessary. Since we weren't actually running the race, not much preparation time was needed in the morning. We literally woke up, threw together some bagel sandwiches, and hit the road to Philly. Our informational email had warned us that we should eat a good breakfast beforehand as our shift was 5:45-11 am and only light snacks would be provided. We decided to eat our breakfast on the way so that it was the latest time possible. 

Just like every Philly race, we parked in our usual spot and made the walk over to Eakins Oval {right in front of the Art Museum}. We all commented on how weird it felt not to be running the race but yet it was a good feeling. It was pretty chilly at such an early hour, but we didn't want to layer up too much because we were told we would be given volunteer gear that would be worn on the outermost layer. When checking in, we weren't given anything but overheard a check-in person telling another volunteer that they didn't get enough volunteer jackets so we'd get them mailed to us later. We actually received an email today reiterating this information on Monday so now I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my volunteer jacket! Anyway, back to the cold. Luckily they had big thermoses of hot chocolate for us to drink while we waited for our assignments. That definitely helped warm me up!

Eventually someone walked us over to our assignment which was at the finish line. We were instructed to set up tables with cups filled with Nuun. John, Rachel, and I worked well as a team. John and Rachel set out cups while I went by and filled them half way with a pitcher full of Nuun. The Nuun was mixed in large coolers in which we dipped the pitcher in to fill it. Time flew by and we filled tons of cups. We all agreed we had to of filled over 500 cups! As we finished up this job, the 5K began. At this point, we were told to stand by the table and hand out cups to the finishers. For once I was able to witness the first finishers break tape. So exciting! Not many 5K finishers seemed interested in the Nuun we were handing out. I'm not sure if they just weren't really thirsty or if they weren't sure what Nuun was.

As the 5K finishers started to thin out, the 15K had already began so we were told to take any bathroom breaks at this point before the rush of 15K finishers came in. We decided to just hang around and luckily we stayed by because we found out there were hand warmers for us to use. Such a lifesaver at this point! The 15K finishers started pouring in soon enough and we were handing out Nuun cups left and right. The sun had finally come out so runners were hot and dying for a cool drink. It felt great to be able to help everyone out and see that we were making a difference. As this crowded thinned out, we started cleaning up. There were still a lot of filled cups left so those needed to be dumped back into the cooler which was then taken to be dumped out. It blew my mind how much was wasted. I told Rachel that I will always take water/sports drink from a volunteer because now I know how much work they put into filling all those cups!

That was the extent of our clean up. Once we finished that, we asked the head guy we kept reporting to if there was anything else we needed to do. He said we were good to leave so we headed towards the volunteer tent to see if there was anything we had to do to check out. Thank goodness we did because there was CHOCOLATE at the volunteer tent! As in, all the goodies the finishers received after completing both races. Not that I was looking to be "rewarded" for my good deed, but man was I happy to get some yummy chocolate in my belly after keeping busy for 5 hours.

John, Rachel, and I all have an enjoyable time volunteering! We agreed that we have a while new appreciation for race volunteers. I will continuing to thank as many as I can throughout each race I run. For anyone who has thought about volunteering at a race, I highly recommend that you do! Running is a huge part of my life so being given the opportunity to give back to the running community was such a great feeling!

My Week in Pictures XVI

After a long, but fun weekend, for once I am okay it is Monday. Usually my weekends fly by, making me dread Monday but this wasn't the case this weekend, though! I had a pretty busy, yet also relaxing weekend and have a low key week ahead of me so all is good over here. Before we kick off the week, I'm sharing with you what I was up to all last week in picture and short caption form.


On Monday my grandparents surprised us early with our wedding shower gift: a Roomba! John was in heaven!

My legs felt good Tuesday and my pace reflected that.

On Wednesday our bathroom project was finally completed!

A nice night on Wednesday called for more grilled pizza (less cheese for me this time!).

Our school spent the week celebrating Autism Awareness. On Thursday all students were given a blue lollipop with a quote on it.

A good week calls for sundaes, am I right?! This local ice cream place is absolutely KILLING me!

We ended Autism Awareness week by wearing matching shirts and blowing bubbles on Friday!

Rachel, John, and I woke up extremely early on Saturday to go volunteer at the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K. They supplied us with endless hot chocolate to start the morning #winwin!

 We filled hundreds of cups with Nuun for the awesome finishers!

After living right outside of Philly for 26 years, I ran the Art Museum steps AKA the Rocky Steps for the first time!

We chose Pat's Steaks for lunch and it's safe to say Geno's will always be my favorite Philly cheese steak.

Sunday's weather was BEAUTIFUL! After a hot 6 mile run, John and I ate breakfast outside on the patio. Dexter joined us!

Question of the Day: Have you ever had a cheese steak in Philly? If so, where is your favorite place to go?

Friday Five: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week

Happy Friday, everyone!! This week really seemed to drag on, am I right?! At the end of the day Monday, I swore it had to be Thursday already. On Tuesday after school, I told a student to have a good weekend. Needless to say, it was a long week!! I am so excited for this weekend because one of my best friends {and best running friend} is coming to stay with me so we can volunteer at the Philly Hot Chocolate 5K/15K. I am SO excited to see her and also volunteer at my first race! Stay tuned for my experience with that next week :) And now, in typical Friday fashion, here are 5 things I've been loving this week!

1. Orange Vanilla Coke Zero

Yes, you read that right. I am LOVING a soda this week when I never drink soda. Pretty much I heard about orange vanilla coke and since I am a major orange vanilla flavor loving person, I was intrigued. Once I learned there was a zero sugar option, I knew I had to try it. I'm happy to report that it's pretty dang tasty! The orange vanilla flavor is there without being too strong. I don't drink it often because I am usually not a soda person, but it's been a nice treat every once in awhile.

2. 2019 Momentum #sharetheSpark Ambassador

I was notified on Monday morning that I was chosen as an ambassador for the 2019 Momentum Share the Spark campaign! I read the email a few times because I didn't really believe it at first. I don't have much information yet but I do know I'll be helping #sharetheSPARK with people during their campaign from April 23 to May 6. I am looking forward to that! Stay tuned for more about my ambassadorship later :)

3. Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

I still can't believe I spent $20 on a lip mask but man, oh man am I beyond happy I did! I suffer from dry, painful, peeling lips during the winter and lately it has been unbearable. While perusing around Buzzfeed one night, I came across an article that featured this item. Intrigued, I did a little research, read some reviews, and was soon enough sold. I thought about it and discussed the idea of purchasing with John until he finally told me to just go buy it. Off to Sephora we went! I was so excited to go home and try it out that night. When I woke up the next morning, I instantly felt the difference. I've been using the lip mask every night for about 2 weeks now and my lips have never felt better! I highly suggest this for anyone who suffers with dry lips. The price may be steep, but a little goes a long way so I'm guessing this little pot will last me a long time! I could honestly go on for hours about this lip mask so I may have to make a whole post about it.

4.  Vera Bradley Stay Cooler Lunchbox

I've had my eye on the Vera Bradley Stay Cooler lunchbox for awhile now. I loved the idea of the wide open top and plenty of room for all the containers I bring to lunch. It was one of those items I told myself I'd by eventually. Well on Monday, my one coworker came in with one and told me all about how she got it at the outlets that happen to be 5 minutes from my house for less than $15!! You know that I marched my little legs over their on Tuesday to buy myself one! I've been using it since then and I am just amazed at how much it can hold. It has a longer, adjustable strap which makes it easier to carry it into school with all my bags each day.

5. Our Bathroom

If you've been following along with my blog the last couple months, then you know that my house became deemed the Hendricks House of Horrors in February because everything that could go wrong, went wrong. One thing in particular {and actually the event that started this whole dumpster fire} was the pipes in our downstairs bathroom burst. This meant with had to do a lot of work to piece it back together such as putting in new insulation, replacing the sheet rock, and painting. We were fortunate enough to have John's uncle do a majority of the work for us. Because he was doing the work on the side, it took his uncle about 2 months to complete the work which was fine by me! As of Tuesday, we officially have a beautiful, warm, functioning downstairs bathroom! I love it and have to admit I am relieved that I don't have to run upstairs each time I have to use the bathroom #firstworldproblems.

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

All About Nuun

Nuun has been my go-to hydration for a couple years now. Back in January I became a Nuun Ambassador and I am more than happy to share the #nuunlove! I've had to chance to try 4 out of the 5 types of Nuun {I have yet to try Nuun Endurance!} and today I am sharing with you information along with my thoughts of the 4 types. At the end of each type I have also included my recommended flavor and when I drink the different types!

Nuun Sport (+ Caffeine)

Nuun Sport (formerly Nuun Electrolytes) is my go-to source of electrolytes before, during, AND after a workout. Nuun Sport + Caffeine powered me through all of my early morning marathon training long runs while Nuun Sport without caffeine is a great way to re-hydrate throughout the day.

1 tablet = 15 calories & 2 grams of sugar

Non-GMO certified, gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free

Vegan friendly

Stevia leaf provides a crisp, light sweetness

+ Caffeine contains 40mg of caffeine from organic green tea extract

My Thoughts: I'm a major water drinker, so keeping myself hydrated isn't too much of a problem, but I like to drink Nuun Sport throughout the day to switch up the flavor. I typically drink this before a run or later in a day after I had gone running. Nuun Sport + Caffeine is perfect for me in the morning because I don't drink coffee. I do feel like the caffeine gives me a boost of energy for my run. 

Recommended Flavors: Fresh Lime {with caffeine} and grape {without caffeine}

Nuun Immunity

With everyone getting sick these past few weeks, Nuun Immunity has become a staple in my desk drawer. With a botanical blend, vitamins, and electrolytes, Nuun Immunity is great for overall immune health support. Sip on one of 2 refreshing flavors (Blueberry Tangerine & Orange Citrus) next time you are starting to feel sick, are traveling, or are recovery from a hard workout.

1 tablet = 15 calories & 2 grams of sugar

Non-GMO certified, gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free

Vegan friendly

My Thoughts: Since I work with kids, I'll try anything to prevent myself from getting sick. I've been drinking Nuun Immunity throughout the day the past few weeks and I feel like I've kept myself from getting sick more than I typically would.

Recommended Flavor: Orange Citrus

Nuun Rest

Brush my teeth? Check. Wash my face? Check. Drink Nuun Rest? Check.

Since receiving my Nuun Rest in the mail last week, it has become part of my nighttime routine. Because proper rest and recovery is vital to your overall health and wellness, Nuun Rest was created to aid to promote restfulness and recovery. Magnesium, tart cherry, sodium, and potassium support the body's natural relaxation responses by calming the mind and relaxing the body, reducing inflammation and muscle soreness, aiding in fluid and nutrient retention, promoting muscle relaxation, and preventing cramping. Nuun Rest can be used as part of your bedtime routine, on rest days, to reduce stress, and any other time you need some extra R&R. Just add one tablet to 4-6 ounces of hot or cold water, let dissolve for about 4 minutes, and sip your way to relaxation. 

1 tablet = 10 calories & 1 gram of sugar

No artificial sweeteners

Non-GMO verified ingredients

Electrolytes for hydration

My Thoughts: When Nuun announced their newest addition, Nuun Rest, I was ecstatic! I ordered it right away and waited by my mail box until it arrived {okay, maybe that's a lie, but you get what I mean}. I tend to take awhile to fall asleep at night, which I find crazy because I feel tired before bed, so I was curious if this would help. I'm pretty pumped to say that all the nights that I have taken Nuun Rest before bed, I've fallen asleep much quicker than the nights I didn't take it. It truly does make your mind and body feel more relaxed. I have only ever tried the Rest with cold water but I have heard from fellow Nuun Ambassadors that they enjoy it in warmer water!

Recommended flavor: Lemon Chamomile

Nuun Vitamins

If you're someone who is always on the go like me, then Nuun Vitamins is for you! Nuun Vitamins help keep you hydrated while giving you a boost of 11 most under-consumed vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C, D, and E. These vitamins and minerals promote daily wellness and healthy hydration. Nuun Vitamins is offered in 6 flavors, 2 of which contain caffeine!

1 tablet = 15 calories & 2 grams of sugar

Contains 11 vitamins and minerals designed to keep you healthy + hydrated

Non-GMO certified, gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free

Vegan friendly

Stevia leaf provides a crisp, light sweetness

My Thoughts: I've been trying to make it habit of drinking Nuun Vitamins a few times throughout the week to get in a dose of vitamins. I love the idea of combining hydration with vitamins. For some reason, I feel like I'm absorbing them more since it takes me longer to drink it rather than just swallowing a few pills.

Recommended Flavor: Grapefruit Orange

When do I drink each one?

Before a workout: Nuun Sport + Caffeine

Throughout the day: Nuun Vitamins or Nuun Sport (if I ran that morning)

Before bed: Nuun Rest or Nuun Sport (if I'm doing a long run the next day)

When I'm starting to feel sick: Nuun Immunity

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried Nuun? If so, which type and flavor are your favorite?

My Week in Pictures XV

How is it already Monday?! We had a fun yet jam-packed weekend so it really flew by. Last week was a pretty chill week for us which was great because between now and Easter we are going to be pretty busy. With the wedding being close to 4 months out, wedding planning is in full swing in the {soon-to-be} Hendricks house! Okay, enough rambling, here’s a some stuff I was up to all week!


On Monday my book club had its last meeting, complete with snacks!

That night was my wedding hair and make up trial. My stylists really worked there magic and blew me a way. You’ll have to wait for the full look in August 😉

Dexter snuggled with me while John and I watched TV together Tuesday night.

Ashley and I went to an alumni event at a local restaurant for our university. It was the perfect excuse for a night out!

I found a recipe for grilled pizza on Thursday which meant we just HAD to try it for dinner that night. It was delicious!

Dexter likes to spend at least one weekend morning snuggling in bed with me. That was Saturday morning.

Saturday was Tommy's 2nd birthday!! He had a Cars themed birthday party and had a blast!

Just some fun selfies of us from the past year :)

5 slow, rainy miles on Sunday morning.

We had free tickets for the Phillies game Sunday night! We brought John's cousin and his wife, my brother, my sister, her husband, and Tommy. It was Tommy's first game and he loved it!

Tommy loved leaning on my back while watching the game, hahaha.

Question of the Week: What is something fun you did this weekend?

Friday Five: 5 Things I’m Loving This Week

I went all day yesterday thinking it was Friday so now I'm glad it's actually Friday! We have an in-service day for work and I am actually looking forward to a quiet day that consists of a Google training and IEP writing time. Fingers crossed the day flies by because I have a busy yet fun weekend ahead of me! Tomorrow my precious nephew, Tommy, turns two and he is having a Cars themed birthday party to celebrate! Most of my Saturday will be spent with him and then Sunday we are meeting with our officiant {a family friend} in the afternoon before heading to a Phillies game. I'm tired just thinking about it all, haha. Before I head out to get this in-service over and done with, I'm sharing some things I've been loving this week!

1. Torani SF Vanilla Syrup

I picked this syrup up back in the fall so I could make my DIY London Fog {insert heart eyes here}. This past weekend I realized I should be putting this in all of my tea drinks. Let me tell you, total game changer! I've been putting a splash of vanilla syrup in my morning tea all week and it honestly feels like I picked up a fancy tea drink from Starbucks. The best part is, this brand offers a BUNCH of different flavors {both regular AND sugar free!} so there is an option for everyone. I'm currently eyeing up the SF chocolate chip cookie dough, SF s'mores, and SF cinnamon vanilla flavors!

2. To Do Lists

This might sound goofy, but I've really been loving to do lists lately! I can tend to be a bit scatterbrained when life starts getting busy, so to do lists are a must to keep me in check. Lately I've had a list for everything {the wedding, home, work, etc.} and the greatest feeling has been checking off items. I love feeling productive!

3. Free Nights

This one might sound silly as well, but this was the first week in what feels like months that John and I didn't have a jam-packed schedule. As much as I love keeping myself busy, it felt so good to come home most days and not have to hurry from one place to another. This gave me time to get some random housework done, do some wedding planning, and most importantly, RELAX!

4. Wedding Planning

I know my list is a lot of non-tangible items this week. That wasn't intentional! Due to our free time in the past week, John and I have gotten a good amount of wedding planning done and it's been all fun stuff. I won't lie, not all of the wedding planning process has been super fun for me. As much as I'm a planner, it can just get stressful at times when you have so much to do and can't figure out how to prioritize these items. Luckily, I'm at the fun part where I'm just piecing together some stuff and it has been so enjoyable!

5. Warm Nuun

Every day during my prep period, which is around 1:30 pm, I make a cup of hot tea. It's just that little extra boost I need to make it to 3:05. On Wednesday, while going in my desk drawer to grab out a tea bag, I saw my Nuun Immunity tube and had a brilliant idea: mix a tablet with hot water for a warm orange citrus drink! I've heard of people mixing the ginger lemonade flavor or the Nuun Rest with warm water so I figured why not. Well let me tell you, it actually tasted pretty good! I made some on Thursday, too, and I loved it. I want to try it with other flavors eventually.

Question of the Day: What is something you're loving this week?

2019 Goals: March Update

Let's just take a moment to acknowledge the fact that April is literally right around the corner! As I sit here typing up this update, I'm completely mind blown that March is already almost over. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty ready to get this school year over with and get to August so I can have my wedding and go on my honeymoon, but it needs to slow down just a tad. In typical last-Wednesday-of-the-month fashion, let's talk about how my 2019 goals are going!

Goal 1: Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

At the end of February, one of favorite bloggers, Carlee McDot, shared 4 different 30-day challenges. One of my '19 in 2019' items is to complete a 30-day challenge, and also I obviously have a goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so this was perfect. I chose the crunches and push-up challenges and as long as I get through the next 3 days, I will have completed both! My running has been pretty on point this month. While it's not as rigorous as when I am marathon training, I feel as if I have been pushing myself a lot lately. I've been surprising myself with the distances I've been running even on the days I have to force myself to even put on my running shoes.

Goal 2: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

I started collecting my old mascara wands for Wands for Wildlife. This was an organization I had known about but completely forgotten about until I cleaned out an old make up bag. I'm going to try and collect a few more before mailing in! Something I realized I've never acknowledged that I do to reduce the use of plastic is by bringing real silverware to lunch. Yeah, it would be easy to grab a plastic fork from the lunchroom and then toss it, but it's just as easy to bring my own fork and wash it when I get home.

Goal 3: Reduce Phone Usage

Although I don't have any real 'proof' that I am doing well with this goal, I still feel as if I am slowly reducing the amount of time I spend on my phone. I am planning on playing around a bit more with the Screen Time feature on my iPhone in the next few weeks so hopefully I'll have that to talk about in my April update.

Goal 4: Try New Recipes

I bought tzatziki sauce this month, which I incorporated into a few different lunch recipes. I made homemade pita chips in our air fryer that turned out super delicious! With the warm weather finally approaching, I am looking forward to trying new recipes on the grill.

Source

Goal 5: Give Back

It hasn't happened yet, but this month I signed up to volunteer at my first race! I am also toying with the idea of volunteering at an ultra marathon I hope to run in the future. I just have to look at my schedule and plan it out.

Goal 6: Save Money

This actually hasn't been too hard of a goal considering I never have time to go out and spend money, hahaha. Couponing has helped me save a lot of money on groceries, allowing us to save that extra money to put towards the wedding.

Question of the Day: How are your 2019 goals coming along? Have you completed anything on your 19 in 2019 list, if you made one?

Phillies Charities 5K Recap

On Saturday I ran my first race of 2019 and my first 5K race in almost a year! To be completely honest, I forgot how different it was to do such a shorter distance race, but more about that later! A few months ago, I stumbled across an ad for the Phillies Charities 5K on Facebook. I mentioned the race to John and he actually seemed interested! A little preface about John and running: he has a love/hate relationship with running and races. A few years back, he would run with me a lot. He has completed a good amount of 5Ks, one 10-miler, and one half marathon. He may or may not have ran the half without any real training... So once I realized John actually might want to run a race with me, I jumped on it! After some research, we realized the perks {a cool race shirt, tickets to a Phillies game, a medal, and more!} that came with running this 5K were great and John was convinced!

Snappin’ some selfies in the car while we wait!

Okay, now that I've rambled on enough, let's get to race day! The race did not start until 9 am and it was less than a 20 minute drive for us, so John and I were pretty pumped to have a later wake up call. We woke up about 45 minutes before we had to leave. I pretty much just woke up, got dressed, and sat around. I normally don't eat anything before a run that's shorter than 6 or so miles, but because it would be awhile before I started running, I ate a few fig newtons as my breakfast. We arrived at Citizen's Bank Park {home of the Phillies baseball team and the location of the start/finish} around 8 am. Knowing it was super windy out, we sat in the car for awhile to soak up the heat. Finally, around 8:20, we sucked it up and got out so I could use the bathroom. Man, oh man, was the starting area CROWDED! John overheard someone mention the race was sold out and I 100% believe that. There were a ton of port-o-potties to use so I was thankful!

So many people! We hid from the wind in between all these crowds!

After waiting around, and squeezing through the crowds to block the wind, for what felt like hours, it was finally time to start. John and I had discussed our plans for the race that morning and both of us had agreed to stay together in the beginning, but if one of us wanted to get ahead, we could. I had woken up super congested, so I planned to just take it easy and assumed we'd probably stay together. Once the gun went off, we had to weave through the crowd to find some open areas. From what I observed, this seemed like a race that many people came to walk. That wasn't a problem because it only took a few minutes to break away from that crowd of people.

John and I stuck together until about a mile in. He wanted to slow down a bit but somehow I was feeling speedy, so he told me to go ahead. I'm still not sure what got into me, but I was keeping a pace between 8:30-9:00 and I was feeling great. Maybe I was trying to finish as fast as possible to get out of the wind and cold? Probably. To be completely honest, I don't remember much of the race. I know that a few parts of the route were an incline and that was when I really pushed my pace. I skipped the water station around mile 1.5 because I wasn't really thirsty, I didn't want to slow down, and mainly, my hands were so frozen from the wind that I couldn't either fathom the idea of cold water spilling on them. I wasn't really looking at my watch so I didn't even realize I was almost to the finish until I saw the 3 mile marker. All I kept thinking was "wow, I feel like I just started!" 

When I crossed the finish, I took note that my time was less that 29 minutes on the clock. That made me feel great because going into the race, I just wanted to run a good race. I never thought I'd be able to run sub-30 minutes on such a windy day while I was feeling sick. I walked a little past the finish and then stood off to the side to wait for John. John was only a few minutes behind me! He told me that he only had to walk a few times which I find successful considering he has only ran once in the past few months. He finished with an official time of 31:09 and my official finish time was 28:32.

We continued through the chute to get our medals. After looking at it later, I realized the medal has a magnet on the back. So cool! There were water bottles, bananas, and prepackaged soft pretzels for post-race fuel. I'm always happy when there are soft pretzels at the end of a race! We kept walking with the crowd which lead us into the stadium From there we did a cool down lap on the stadiums warning track. It was super cool being able to walk right on the field! We were able to see both dugouts and get an up close view of what those look like. Of course John and I stopped and took some pictures!

Once we exited the stadium, John and I went to the car to grab the ticket vouchers so we could go redeem them at the ticket windows. Each runner received a ticket voucher that gave you redeemed for 4 tickets to a baseball game on one of the selected dates given to us. Between the 2 of us, we got 8 tickets for a game this Sunday! The only downside was that we had to wait in a long line at the ticket windows while the wind blew and chilled us to the bone! I wasn't sure I'd ever thaw out after that!

We both agreed that we were hungry and exhausted after that. I found it funny that I felt so tired after a 5K when I've ran much longer distances and felt better. It must've been the wind and the fact that I was sick! Since we were in Philly, we stopped for Geno's cheese steaks! Instead of sitting outside in the wind or eating in our car, we made the decision to bring them home to eat in our warm house. After that, we took a much needed nap :)

Overall, the Phillies Charities 5K was a great race! It was very well organized and I was happy that my watch and the route lined up pretty much exactly mile-wise. The goodies were received and the experience we had made the price worth it!