My first 5K
I did it! I ran my first 5K and it was such a wonderful experience. I truly think I am hooked!! Looking for the next local race now! Here's how the day went down:
Registration at the race site was from 6:30 til 7:15 with the race beginning at 7:30. I had already pre-registered so all I really had to do was get there and grab my race packet, but I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep (nerves)... I had a glass of water and a banana, got dressed in my running gear and headed to the mall (the starting line) to get ready to run. I parked, not knowing that the finish line was going to be directly in front of my car.... This becomes important later in the story. <GRIN>
I picked up my packet and milled around, feeling rather awkward for a while because everyone seemed to know each other and I didn't know a soul. Being an introvert really doesn't help either... I wasn't out there saying hello to everyone. One lady did strike up a conversation with me, and we ran together at the start until I pulled away.
At the start, I was afraid I was going to be trampled. Everyone seemed so much faster than me! But I hung in there and when the crowd thinned out a little, I found my pace. Well, actually it wasn't MY pace... mine is usually a lot slower than what I was running.... At the 1 mile marker, my time was 9:16. My 1 mile time is usually somewhere around 10 - 11 minutes. The 2nd mile marker was a water station, and at the finish line, I couldn't believe it when I went under the clock at... are you ready for this...??? 28:34. I ran it in under 30 minutes. I have never run 5K distance in under 33 minutes. I thought the clock was wrong until I looked at my heart rate monitor and saw that it said the same thing. I was amazed.
Ok, so I am now finished running... but I can't leave. I am parked at the finish line, and there are about 200 bodies in front of my car. So, I grabbed some fruit and water from the refreshment table and hung out. The lady that I had started running with had to leave, but she had mentioned that someone told her that she might get an award for her age group, so I figured I would listen for her name when they handed out the trophies.
They CALLED MY NAME for 2nd place in my age group. I brought home a cute little trophy! Yup! I am hooked. I have called everyone I can think of except my best friend and my aunt, mainly because I didn't want to wake them up.... (Beth, if you read this before I call you, call me!!)
Have a great Saturday! Time to get ready to go to my brother in law's to help them move.