"What if there are so many people and I can't weave in and out of people smoothly?"
"What if there is no one there and I'm the only one?"
"What if there are a TON of teenagers who sign up and make me feel incredibly slow?"
"What if I completely flop and finish last?"
"What if I do very well and finish first?"
"What if I do very well and finish first?"
I had SO many questions that kept going through my head all week! It was ridiculous! As soon as I went to bed each night and my head hit my pillow, the questions would start all over again!
I have a friend, Erin, who goes to Zumba with me. We've gotten progressively closer over the past year. There are a few songs in Zumba where we'd both yell or repeat the words, look at each other, and start laughing. Mainly because it would be just us who were shouting and having a blast! It grew into a friendship that I did not expect! I am grateful for it! I asked Erin if she was going to be running the 5K. She said that she hadn't signed up yet and was scared to run it because she hadn't hardly trained this year.
I told her to sign up! She kept telling me she didn't want to pay the full price to run it. I told her to sign up anyway!
My neighbor Malissa signed up to run the 5K. She's been on a weight-loss journey and has been getting into running! The night before the run, we got to talk about our excitement, nervousness, goals, etc.. It was nice because I knew I wasn't the only one who was crazy nervous! We talked about what we ate for the week, how we tried to keep our meals consistent, and not do anything that wouldn't normally do!
I've done a few fun 5K's like the Color run and the Glow run, and I've done some virtual 5K's, but I've NEVER done a timed 5K with prizes awarded! I was insanely nervous! So I prayed the night before the run that I would be able to sleep and get the rest I would need to do well during the race!
I woke up at 5 even though I set my alarm for 5:30. I made six different trips to the bathroom before I left for the race. I ate a banana about an hour before the race, as well. When I got to the Y at 7:30, I was the first one to pick up my packet. I got the chance to talk to some people who were nervous about running, but glad that all the "good runners" were running the Market to Market! Which made me feel better about my chances to place well! There were 39 people running/walking the race.
That's when I looked over and saw Erin! I about shouted for joy! I told her that I KNEW she'd sign up! She told me she finally signed up the day before! A little last minute, but I was glad to have a friend to run with! We decided to walk around the parking lot to warm up. The wind was AWFUL. AWFUL. We talked about pacing and our strategy to finish under 29 minutes. I told her to stay with me as long as she could because I had my Garmin on and it would help us to pace! We knew that we'd be heading straight into the wind for the first mile AND there were hills. We did not want to start off too fast!
We went back inside for one last trip to the restroom. Then it was go time!
We lined up. Erin and I in the front! Yikes! The start was off and we settled into a steady pace and clocked our first mile in 9:11! We were in third and fourth place at the time. I knew that we had some pretty tough hills coming up, we reached the turn around point and I talked Erin through the largest hill of the run. We encouraged other runners as we passed by them. It helped me to talk through the hills with Erin there! We finally made it through all of the hills and reached mile two with a split of 8:43. We were in second and third place. That's when Erin said, "You go on ahead if I'm slowing you down!" I laughed and said, "You're not!" But I lost her shortly afterwards.
When I came up on the turn to go around the college, the wind caught me by surprise, but I pushed through it. I looked at my Garmin and I was running with a pace of 7:50. I kept thinking, "I'm going to crap out soon and end this thing terribly! I've never gone this fast! But hey, I'm in SECOND PLACE RIGHT NOW! I think I can catch the girl in front of me! Here I go!" I looked behind me and knew I was good for second place if I didn't trip or have a heart attack! I hit mile three with a split of 7:30!
I came up on the final stretch of the run and I could see the girl in front of me, but I knew I couldn't catch her! (Keep in mind that she in a sophomore in high school and I'm 25 and a mother of three!) I came down the finish and looked at the clock for the first time. It said 00:25:32, and I thought, "SERIOUSLY?!"
Yep! Seriously! I put my arms up and crossed the finish line about fell over with excitement! I also forgot to shut my Garmin off right away! But it was pretty accurate for my time! I finished that bad boy with an official time of 25:38! I plowed through my "goal time" by four minutes! Holy buckets! I felt amazing! I felt strong during the race!
I looked over and saw Erin coming down the finish and started cheering her on! She ended up getting fourth place with a time of 26:46! SO PROUD OF HER! She did that with hardly any training! I said to her, "Imagine if you HAD trained for this! Sheesh! You would have WON the thing!"
My friend Malissa finished in 31:14. Not quite what she was going for, but she got a Personal Record! I was (and am) SO proud of her! I am sad that we didn't get a photo together...
Erin and I stayed and cheered on every single finisher before we went back inside the Y to eat a banana and get some water. But first, her husband snapped a photo!
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| Photo by J. J. |
Once inside, we talked for a little bit before the drawings for some free stuff. My friend Malissa was the first person drawn out of the names! Erin and I even got some free stuff! A Dilly bar from Dairy Queen and a free dollar menu item from McDonald's! WOO HOO!
Then came time for the awards! I had NO idea that they were handing out trophies for the top people who placed in each age category! I got called for FIRST PLACE in the 20-29 age division and Erin got called for SECOND! WOO HOO!
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| Photo by J. J. |
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| Photo by J. J. |
I had to think of how to tell my husband how I did once I got home! He was going to try to be at the finish to cheer me on, but our youngest daughter over-slept and he wasn't able to make it out. And that was okay! It made bringing home the trophy that much better!
I walked into the kitchen and saw all of my girls first! Then Charles turned around and I pulled the trophy out from under my jacket! I told him how I finished and he gave me a HUGE hug! And kept telling me how proud of me he was! It seriously meant the world to me!
I wanted to get a photo of my girls with me and the trophy, so we headed outside for some quick photos!
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| Three of the four reasons why I run! Charles, being the fourth reason! |
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| A proud moment for me! |
This is my loot! I got a shirt with my packet during pick-up. My racing bib. My free food vouchers (WOO HOO for the Dilly Bar! SCORE!). And my TROPHY!
I have never won ANYTHING when it comes to running! Not even in High School! The closest I ever came was third place at a small track meet where there were only six runners in the 3,000 m run! So this trophy is kind of a HUGE deal for me! It proves to me that I CAN do it! I can finish first in my age class! I can finish second overall. I can do it.
I honestly never thought I could. I doubted myself. I kept thinking after the 5K that if the people who were running the Market to Market were running the 5K, I wouldn't have placed at all. And I wouldn't have! I looked at last years results and I would've placed 16th overall!
But who cares?
Because on May 11th, 2013, I got first in my age group! I trained hard, ran hard, and earned that trophy! I am proud of myself! I am proud of my friends who finished!
I am so, so happy!
I am confident that with more training in speed work, I can get an even better time for my next 5K!
But first, the Dam to Dam 20K is 19 days away! Yikes! Back to training tomorrow!
