My First 5k!

(Note: I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can find my memory card reader)

I ran in my very first 5k this Saturday and it was amazing!!! The race site was an hour away and check-in ended at 7:30am so I decided I would leave my house about 5:30 to get there with plenty of time. My mom and sisters were meeting me up there later but Norm had to work so I was on my own until 8:15 and the race started and 8:30....I was a nervous wreck.

I ate a banana when I woke up but the butterflies in my stomach were not excited about the idea of oatmeal so I packed that up in Tupperware and headed out running about ten minutes late even though I got up at 5 and all I had to do was dress in the clothes I laid out, eat, and grab my pre-packed bag on the way out the door.

The race was at Berry College. I went there for one semester and visited several times after that....all I had to do was get on 27 North (which is about 3 minutes away from my house) and stay on it until it crosses right in front of Berry....I got lost!

I turned right when the highway went straight even though a sign at the intersection said Rome was straight ahead...I'll blame it on nerves and maybe the fact that I was eating oatmeal while driving. So now I was running 25 minutes behind schedule and getting very nervous about making it on time.

I got there about 7 and thanked my foresight that I allowed an hour between my original projected arrival time and the end of check-in.

I spent the next 15 minutes walking around like an idiot asking people things like "where is the 5k check-in?" when there is a sign right next to me indicating and "do you know where the bathrooms are?" and she points directly behind me to the long row of bright blue port-a-johns. I think I rode the shuttle back and forth from the race site to my car three times because I couldn't decide where to leave my bag of post race stuff seeing as I was still very much by myself.

After the last trip back to the car I decided I would take everything with me and hope that a) my family got there before the race started or b) race people don't steal stuff. This time I didn't have the nerve to ride the shuttle AGAIN so I walked the half mile up there chatting with a girl who was also running her first 5k and whose husband also had to work, but her friends showed up early so I dropped her off with them and wandered off to a spot where I could look like I knew what I was doing ("I'm so good at preparing myself I don't need help!") while I waited for my family to save me from nerve racked mind.

I was reassured by the fact that everybody just leaves their stuff everywhere with apparent confidence so I did the same and then went around taking pictures to document the momentous occasion, cheering the half marathoners that took off at 8, and using the restrooms more times then I ever thought possible (there is no way I drank that much water).

They called 15 minutes and suddenly realized I had no idea how to prepare myself....so I ran through my normal set of warm-ups that I do before a Judo tournament, except for throwing people, I thought that might be frowned upon here. I put on my most serious face so that people would think this warm-up routine was cutting edge and why didn't they know it?

My family made it with five minutes to spare so after a quick hello and explaining how to use the camera I was off to line up. I wriggled my way to a spot near the front of mid pack and all of a sudden we were running!!

I waved at the family as I passed and then looked to check my stop watch 00:00....I forgot to hit start...oh well I figured we were about a minute into it so I'd just add a minute when I passed the mile markers.

I started off at a nice jog just finding my stride and regulating my breathing. Before I knew it I was passing the one mile mark....8:30ish was the time (they have wonderful volunteers announcing the time in five second intervals) that was a fast mile for me. I made a mental not to be careful and pace myself, I was shooting for 10 minute miles with a finish around 31-33 minutes.

I saw a lady up ahead that was running at a cadence I liked and paced with her for about a mile and when we passed the 2nd mile marker it was another 8 and half minutes....wow only a mile to go and I'm feeling good!

I had a good handle on the pace I wanted to I left my running buddy and headed into the home stretch. I had run in the pack for the first few minutes but we had all spread out at this point and I was too far ahead of the person behind to worry about being passed and too far away from the person ahead of me to stress about catching up, so I just ran my own race and was feeling great!

I reached the last 1/10 of a mile and it was up hill (cruel race designers) but when I saw the clock reading 25:45 and my sister waving like mad I mustered the energy to bound up the hill and finish strong....not sprint mind you....bound. In retrospect move my feet fast would have been a more efficient way of getting a final burst but the leaping looks alot more amusing on the video my took (to be posted later). I hit the finish line at 26:17!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!

They took my timing chip off my shoe and I was done (note: also cruel to make you stand still a split second after crossing the finish line, I thought I would pass out)

I found my family and hugged and laughed and almost forgot to cool down or stretch. My mom, the trooper that she is, brought a cooler full of water and protein stuff and gatorade so I skipped the runners refreshment tent and split the post race snacks with my sisters.

After hanging out for a while we noticed a large group gathering around a board....RESULTS!!!

I stood in line forever until I had the list all to myself. I started looking for my name from the bottom up....and up....and up...until there it was....in 9th place!!!!!! I was the only ninth female out of 144 to cross the line!!!! And my official time was actually 25:18! (apparently it took 59 seconds for me to actually cross the start line from where I was in the group).

I had really almost left because I knew I wasn't going to being awarded anything and I was tired and hungry. Suddenly I didn't care I wanted to see how I did in my age group....I might actually get a trophy!!!! Sure enough 2nd place 20-24 age group and they called my name! My sisters went wild! The top finisher was 20 minutes and some change....no way I could have caught her!

I still can't quite believe it....9th overall female and 2nd in my age group....I'm officially a runner!

To reward myself I went straight to a specialty running store and replaced my $15 walmart shoes with a pair of Asics picked out just for me by the very kind girl that watched me run around the store in 12 different pairs of shoes....I love them! I love running! I love racing....I'm hooked!!!

I know this was a VERY long post, but it also serves as my race journal for now....sorry guys!