Well, it's official! I have finished my second 5k in as many years. A LITTLE pathetic, but mostly awesome. Sunday's race was a really great experience for me!
Unlike last time, when I was absolutely
not prepared, this race was challenging, yet fun and enjoyable!
First of all, it was a beautiful day in the low 70s. Perfect for a run! I had some friends who also planned to race so we met up at the start/finish line. We didn't stay together because we all had our own personal goals in mind, but it was great just knowing that I wasn't alone out there! Jerry also came to cheer us on with Oscar and Krusty! We made it a family event. And despite Oscar being an hour past his nap time, he did great!
Pardon me, My Geek is showing....
One of the hilarious parts about the race (for me) was that my number was 1337. This means nothing to 99.9% of the population, but for those of us computer geeks (and I say
us lightly because I know enough code to
barely qualify) 1337 means leet (or elite) in
leetspeak! HAA! I'm leet! I kept telling Jerry,
Baby I'M LEET. I knew it was going to be a good day.
So it begins....
I started off pretty strong, trying to keep pace with my friends. After about 1/4 mile though, I knew I would not be able to keep it up. If I wanted to have a good strong run, I needed to slow down, so I got myself back to the pace I am used to by humming one of my running songs. I was bummed because they said we couldn't use our ipods. I don't really know why but I didn't realize how much I rely on my music to distract me and keep pace. I really missed using it! Like I said, I tried singing the songs in my head but I only know the chorus for most of them and that was getting really boring! So I just did what anyone else would do in my situation: follow someone interesting and listen to their conversation!
I finally found my groove about halfway through and started to enjoy it. Tangent: why do you have to have a mile and a half of SUCK before you like it? What is it about the body that has to get to this point? I still don't understand. This is probably why I gave up on running those other forty-thousand times. I had heard there was a wall but I never made it far enough to push through it. My wall is right around 1.5 miles. Now I know.
A Happy Ending!
The last mile was pretty simple and straightforward. I didn't say easy, but I do think it was easier than the first two. Thankfully, the final straightaway was just that, straight. I picked up the pace once I could see the finish line, just like a horse who can finally smell the barn. I am that horse. I finished at 37:01 minutes. My goal was to come in under 40 and I am really happy to have done it! But seriously? 01 seconds? I couldn't have gone a LITTLE faster? The funny thing is that for a brief moment when I could see the end in sight, I actually started to tear up a little. Chalk it up to runner's high. Some people laugh. I cry. And then I really almost lost it because I imagined Jerry showing up and handing me the leash and Krusty would be galloping right along side me helping me finish strong. And then I was singing Chariots of Fire. Dramatic? Who ME?
All I can say is that I am seriously proud of myself! At one point when I realized that all my friends (ALL of them including the 7 year old) were smoking me, I just had to remember that it wasn't about them. And that's what I know about exercise and weight loss in general. It's all about competing with yourself. Do a little better than your best and keep doing that. I felt so strong when I finished. I felt relieved and tired and excited. I will definitely do it again and I know I can get even better. Because I already have.
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