This is late (the race was the 6th) but life got in the way and I had hard time sitting down to put all of my thoughts on paper. In any other time I probably would have just decided it was too late now, but as with many people, the last few days have caused me to reflect a lot on life, running and what it means to me so I decided better late than never.
The day was COLD. Low 40s but felt like 30s because of the windchill. I wore long thicker leggings, a running tank and a jacket and I'm very glad that I had all of that. I had a whole wheat egg white sandwich & 24 oz of water 90 minutes before the start and that seemed to be the perfect amount of food before the race. it was timed perfectly (no upset stomach issues, lots of energy. I will definitely be doing this again.) I got to the parking lot 50 minutes before start time and sat in my car for 30 of those minutes listening to music, getting my bib taped on correctly and just trying to keep myself centered. I knew as soon as I got in the bigger group I'd feel more nervous and I wanted to protect my calm as long as possible. With 20 minutes to go I went to the restroom (obvi will need more time for this for a larger race with larger lines) and ran for about 5 minutes to warm up (that was excellent advice on the part of one of my much more experienced friends).
I then found a patch of sun, which was slightly warmer and waited. I'm glad I didn't have longer to wait, the thoughts at this point were a little overwhelming.
When the race started I found myself more than a little overwhelmed with emotion. I was mainly so excited to be doing this. I knew I could finish, it wasn't even a question. A year ago I couldn't have run a 5K. I couldn't have run a mile. 4 years ago I was overweight, a smoker and had TERRIBLE fitness habits. The idea that I could now not only do this, but potentially do it well was awe inspiring. I found myself tearing up a little behind my glasses during the first quarter mile. And then things started to clear out. My playlist kicked in and it was all about running the race I wanted to run (slow and steady to start, gradually speeding up each kilometer until the end). I started passing people, and pretty much kept passing people through the end. I wound up trading places a few times with a girl who seemed to be running the exact race I was running, which I thought was interesting and served for a lot of motivation. A pretty sizable hill at 1.5 miles seemed like a cruel joke in the cold weather but I pushed up it and kept going and the last 1.5 miles I felt like I was flying. I kept picking up speed a little here and there, when I got to the last .1 mile I was full on sprinting across the finish line and had more to give.
I finished in 29:58 with 2 hills and a headwind. That is about a minute slower than I really wanted to run, but given the conditions I can't really complain. It was a 9:38 pace and I know I can go faster (I prob started a little slower than I needed to and a little further back than I needed to...I'll know better next time).
Things I learned:
Don't forget the gloves at home! My hands were FREEZING and I own a spectacular pair of Columbia running gloves.
I prefer running on the road to the sidewalk.
People cheering on the sideline are the most amazing thing ever.
Having a friend there would have been nice for the end. I should share what I'm up to with people more.
Playlists are really important to my pacing right now and I should spend the requisite amount of time on them.
I really like racing.
I have a 10K on Saturday. It's going to rain. A month ago I might have used that as a reason not to run the race and just to 6.2 miles on the treadmill instead. Not this week. Not anymore. I'll just find some gear to run in when its wet and be thankful I can do this miraculous thing. I'll be better about posting that recap.
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