I woke up on Saturday both nervous and excited. I knew that I needed to eat something and start getting hydrated so I ate cheerios and a banana. I drank a few cups of water. I’m not really sure what you should eat for breakfast on race day, but I know that this breakfast hasn’t ever bothered me when I’ve run in the morning before. So I stuck with that!
We all walked down to the park and I started to get nervous seeing that everyone there looked fit and athletic. There were super dedicated people doing lunges and stretches (they’re the ones that ended up winning) and I started to wonder what I was doing! I was definitely the biggest woman there and that’s ok, but I was sort of expecting to see other people like me, but this is a small town! There were about 130 participants. Ranging from about 10 year olds to 70 year olds.
The race was called the Firecracker 5k, so the race was set off when fireworks were let off. I remembered what you all told me about everyone running faster at first and could feel myself trying to go with the crowd as soon as we started. So I set my own pace and hubby stayed with me the whole time. I have to stay I am VERY happy he stayed with me because he really pushed me along. It was leap frog with a few people who ran really fast and then walked until eventually many of them just took off, I guess that was their plan!
About mile one I thought I was getting tired. I told hubby I wanted to walk and he said, “nope, we haven’t gotten to mile 2 yet.” So I pushed on and ran to mile 2. That made me very happy because that’s the farthest I have run without stopping and I had only done it once, on Wednesday, before race day! Then we walked for 2 minutes and started running again. It was at that point that some old ladies started passing me up with their walking. lol. But oh well. It was a little embarrassing but I had to keep telling myself that I was only competing with myself, and I was doing my personal best. From there on I would set goals like, I have to run to this certain street and then I can walk for about a minute. I did that twice. So ultimately, I ran most of it, however slow it was!
When we turned the corner and saw that finish line, I just ran as fast as I could. We crossed the finish line at 42:21, beating my goal of less than 45 minutes. We came in just before most of the walkers did, but that’s ok because we finished. I was completely out of breath and red faced and exhausted. My family told me I did a great job. My brother and sister-in-law finished somewhere in the 20 minute range. I know Hubby could have run much faster but he said he was happy just staying with me and he felt we were at a comfortable jogging pace. I was a little embarrassed when he ran into someone he knew and they asked him his time! lol, poor guy…but he just said the time and said it was his first 5k. What a sweetie. :)
I drank a bottle of the water they provided while they had a drawing for all kinds of free prizes. Hubby, my brother and sister-in-law each one a free ice cream cone, but I didn’t win anything! But there were a lot of people who didn’t! They gave out medals and trophies to the top finishers and then called all of the winners over for a picture to go in the paper. I said, “Hey now, I’m a winner too!” My family all agreed. lol My goal for next year is to do a lot better than this year and to someday win one of those medals!
The rest of the day I was absolutely exhausted. I couldn’t figure out if it was from the race or what. But literally, I could hardly get myself to do anything. That was definitely the longest distance I have gone before, so that could be it. It kind of made me wonder if I should have eaten something more substantial before the race? I did come home and eat a big bowl of fruit though. Any suggestions or comments on your own experience would be appreciated!
The final verdict: It was torturous at times and I just wanted to collapse and sit down, but I kept on going. I would totally do it again, but probably not for a few months so I can keep training to get faster!
So now I leave you with something I have never done before! The four of us before race day, plus our nephew who wanted to be in the picture. lol
