1st 5k Report

So, I haven't been the best about updating the blog recently but time seems to be an issue with me these days. I ran on Monday (4 miles), Tuesday (5 miles) and Wednesday (4 miles) of this week. For Wednesday's run I woke up at 5 am to complete it before the research project in LA began. I'm super proud of myself for that....but then, on Thursday I was so done with everything. I was tired, work was stressful and long, and I just didn't find the time to get any running in. Friday was all day on a plane (almost literally) as my flight was delayed because of a faulty ceiling panel on the plane, so again no running. Ultimately, the week started out good but was ending poorly until....my very first race!!!!!

So, I haven't run a 5k since high school and was very skeptical of my ability to run fast. I mean, I know I can run at least 8 miles, but most of my training runs I only average between 10-11:30 minute miles. So, I was content to run this 5k and finish in the 30 minute range.

I barely woke up in time this morning. I was still tired from my day of travel and was a bit off because of the time change, but I forced myself out of bed. I didn't really eat healthy yesterday so as I was getting ready I warned Ryan that I might come in last place and finish in over 30 minutes. Ryan seemed annoyed and a bit disappointed in my lack of ability, but we wound up getting out the door by 8:15...only 15 minutes late. I arrived and got my number and then we waited....and waited...and waited. This was actually probably a good thing for me because it allowed me time to wake up. It also gave my competitive spirit some time to wake up as well. Ryan kept picking out people as goal people to beat and while I was skeptical, I really wanted to do well and not come in last place.

So the race began. This was a small race and it really started abruptly. I wound up by accident being the the front (on the far left side) while everyone was bunched up on the far right side. So, I just started running as fast as I thought I reasonably could maintain. I really had no clue how fast I should be going. There was a small pack in front of me and as I ran, no one was passing me. I just kept waiting and waiting for the crowds that were back at the start line to come up and pass, but they just weren't. It was really weird....but I kept running and trying to keep pace with this really old man that seemed to know what he was doing. There were no mile markers, but I must say I ran the whole first mile with no one passing me which was really odd. At some point, a guy that looked in his 40s passed me and I was running next to this little kid that kept sprinting then slowing down then sprinting then walking which got kind of annoying because I kept having to worry about where he was because we kept going back and forth passing each other. Anyways, we got to the first turn around, and much to my surprise, there was hardly anyone close behind me. As I kept running, I realized that I probably would beat most of the people Ryan told me I need to beat because it didn't look like anyone was running particularly fast, and a lot of people were walking by this point.

The race then recrossed the start line and went out and back for the final mile. This was really funny because at this point very few people had gotten to that point, so Ryan, assuming that I was going to be at the back of the pack, wasn't even watching. I turned the corner and happened to turn my head and I made eye contact with Ryan. He looked surprised and all he could muster was a thumbs up. He was really shocked to see me in the front of the crowd. I think he was really proud of me and I could see it on his face....along with the utter surprise.

At this point, I knew it was almost done and I started running as fast as I could. I usually like a really slow pace so I made sure to push myself to go faster than normal. I felt good and 3 miles is starting to feel pretty short to me which is a great feeling. One chick passed me but then lost steam pretty quickly, so I re-passed her. I wound up finishing in 24:20. I was the fifth overall female to finish and finished first in the 25-29 age group. I even got a medal!!! I wound up finishing at the same time as two 70+ old men which was kind of funny, but I did wind up beating A LOT of men which was fun. I probably finished in the top 20 overall. I think not many people took the race very seriously, but the big accomplishment is the confidence boost knowing I can run faster than I thought I could. Maybe this is a lesson that I need to start thinking more positively....