Race Report UPS Ultimate
UPS Ultimate 5k
Saturday
June 27, 2009
Last night I was really dreading the 5k. To the point that I almost didn't set my alarm clock. The reason I did.... well, there are several. #1 I had already registered and paid my money. #2 I knew I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't do it. #3 I always feel this way before a race and then I'm always glad. This was the first race I was doing by myself though. Even if I don't run with somebody, I've always had a friend doing the race with me. We always start together at least.
So the alarm goes off and I drag myself out of bed. I took a shower to wake myself up and make sure I didn't stink BEFORE the race. I ate some toast with PB & banana. It is, afterall, my free day. I ate around 6:30 am. Running a little late. We left the house around 6:40.
BEFORE THE RACE:
I picked up my packet and since I registered so early, my bib number was 9. (No indication of where I'd place, of course.) We stand around for a little bit. I use the porta potty. The line was so long. I'm looking around thinking that I don't belong there. These people are RUNNERS. Most of them are in shape. I don't fit in. It's kind of like those pictures where you have to pick what doesn't belong. But that's part of why I do these races. To help my self esteem. I make my way to the starting line around 5 til 8. (The race started at 8:00.) I'm already sweating. It's around 84 degrees Fahrenheit. But the heat index is closer to 96 or so.
ME IN THE PORTA POTTY LINE:
I realized that my iPod was dead. So I found JD & Tatum and gave it to them and got back into the starting chute. I HATE running without music. Why does stuff like this always happen to me??? Then JD called me back over and said it was working. Apparently I forgot to turn it on... yeah, usually don't see a screen when that happens. I never turn it off, though. It stays on the FM adapter in my car and that keeps it charged. Oh yeah, JD had my car yesterday for an oil change and turned it off. Oh well, who cares, it works. I'm still fumbling with my arm band when the race starts.
I ran the first mile without any walk breaks. I looked at my Garmin. My pace for that mile was 12:16. That's faster than usual for me. I told you I was slow. Then I had to take several walk breaks. I just hadn't trained very well on the running part. Well, it was hard because I had issues with shin splints right at the beginning. My original goal was to run the whole race without any walk breaks. But I wasn't going to risk injury or a flare up of my shin splints. Anyway, it was a very hot day. There were lots of people there to cheer us on. I finished in 41:27 according to my Garmin. Not sure of my official time. My average pace, according to Garmin was 13:12. That is also faster than my usual. Guess adrenaline did take me a little further.
ME COMING TO THE FINISH LINE:
And then we left and got some Chick Fil A. I got home, took a shower and super short nap. Now I'm posting. What's for dinner? Oh wait, it's only 12:47 pm. I'm still tired. But Tatum woke up from her nap early. Blah!
I'm once again, very glad that I went through with it.
