A few weeks ago I completed the Recovery Run 5k with my friend Kara.

The Recovery Run 5k supports the Memphis Recovery Centers. Memphis Recovery Centers (MRC) provides professional treatment of drug and alcohol dependency for teens and adults in a caring and confidential atmosphere using 12-step recovery methods. They have a lot of different treatment options and also help with people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse at the same time. Places like this are crucial to helping people overcome addiction and recover to live a healthy and productive life.

I loved the race shirt for this race, btw. It was a long sleeve Brooks technical shirt with a cool design. So awesome to now have a long sleeve shirt like this! And the race fee was only $20, what a deal. If you are in Memphis, sign up for this 5k next year!

I decided to do this 5k with my friend Kara who was planning to walk it. I was going to walk with her and had no plans to run or try for a good time.

The morning of the 5k was FREEZING (weather here is so unpredictable during this time of year). I took a million selfies and walked around in place to try to stay warm.

The turn out for the race was good. There were over 300 people which was great to see on a very chilly morning.

The race was held in Overton Park, one of my favorite parts of the city. I actually started my running earlier this year in Overton Park and trained there many days as I used to live close by. It’s also where I did my first 5k, so I love doing 5ks there.

The race looped around the back road inside Overton Park twice. For the first mile I walked with Kara. Finally I couldn’t take the cold any longer and decided to do jog/walk intervals to warm myself up. I felt bad for bailing on her but the decision did keep me warm, thank goodness!

Along the trail the race organizers had placed quotes and facts about Memphis Recovery Centers. I enjoyed this since I didn’t know much about the organization before signing up for the 5k. It was nice to “hear” from people who have been helped by MRC.

I finished the race in 51:27. As I said, I didn’t really go into it with any plans to try for a good time and I walked at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the race. After I finished I only had one face happening because I was still so cold.

Yeah. Cold weather. Meh.

After I finished I walked back and walked the rest with Kara. I ended up doing a little bit over 4 miles that day.

I’m pretty happy with my results via RunKeeper. Since I wasn’t aiming for anything that morning I’m happy to have done the extra mile and kept to a decent pace for walking the majority.

Overall I was thrilled to be a part of this 5k, despite the cold! I’m already planning to complete it next year – it’s definitely on my race calendar for 2014. :)