(also copied)
Well, I made it through my first 5K! The trail was interesting...mud, gravel, grass, pavement, wooden pathways, potholes, did I mention the mud? I had no freakin idea where we were by the middle of it, and I've been going to this park since grade school!
I finished in 34:02. I'll admit I didn't really push myself. I was tired and freezing so I kind of putzed along. Some parts were very narrow, only 3 people across (which I've since learned is normal for a trail run- thanks Lena!). Some people didn't want to move over to the side, that was frustrating. I wore what I did a few weeks ago, minus my thermal leggings. Thank god I brought my hat and gloves!
I got there WAY to early. Packet pick up was 6:30-7:15 and the race was at 8. I had no idea how busy it would be, so I went super early. It took no time at all, so I had over an hour to waste. Good thing I brought a good book along! Got the T-shirt, in the wrong size, and an awesome breakfast afterwards. I was starving...and there were donuts! How cool is that! And I snagged some bananas and a granola bar for the ride home.
Next weekend is a 4.37 mile race. But, my friend is taking me for mexican afterwards, so that'll be motivating. I'm spending the night at my sister's the night before, so I'm looking forward to that! I'm going to continue with my "night before the race" pizza tradition. (Hey, it seems to working well so far)
Note for next year: recruit people to race with me. Racing by yourself sucks. Not the actually racing part, the the before and after parts. Standing around by yourself is b o r i n g. I need some motivation to keep me going-though the donuts worked pretty good, a friend would be nice too.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
April 12th-Sandburg 2 mile
(Copied from somewhere else)
I made it!!
The race was at 9, but we got there at 8:15 to check in. It took all of 2 minutes, so we had a long time to sit and wait. It was 38, sprinking and windy. Could have been worse. I wore thermal pants and a top, track pants, a short sleeved T and a fleece coat, a hat and gloves. I took the gloves off by the end and wished I could have taken my coat off, but my number was on it. Started out fine, then a small hill, then a big hill. The one mile turn around point was at the top of the hill. I walked a bit up the hill. My time at 1 mile was 10:25. I was shocked!
I took a few more walk breaks on the way back (mainly because I had a killer side cramp). There was a guy with a bullhorn towards the finish line and was yelling at me, "it's time to sprint, you're almost there". (I wanted to kick him) So, I started running like a mad woman to get in under the the next minute. Now, this sounds dumb, but I cannot remember if it was 21 or 22 minutes I think I made it right under the 21 minute. My friend, Barb, finished shortly behind me so I waited for her. It was her first race as well. Her husband came out and took pictures of us. I'm sure we were looking sexy.
We didn't stick around for awards because I needed to get the boys from my mom and I figured there wasn't really a need. I had no reason to think I would win anything. I go to the Y with the boys for Healthy Kids Day and a coworker who was also at the race comes up to me and says "I told you guys you should have stayed!". Turns out I won 1st place in my age group and so did my friend! We both got trophies!!!!! She got them for us and gave them to me at the Y. I had a perma-smile on my face and probably looked like an idiot, but I was so excited!
_________________
Ok, the results are up and and my time was 20:54. There were only a few of us in my age group so it wasn't a huge victory, but I'll still take it.
I made it!!
The race was at 9, but we got there at 8:15 to check in. It took all of 2 minutes, so we had a long time to sit and wait. It was 38, sprinking and windy. Could have been worse. I wore thermal pants and a top, track pants, a short sleeved T and a fleece coat, a hat and gloves. I took the gloves off by the end and wished I could have taken my coat off, but my number was on it. Started out fine, then a small hill, then a big hill. The one mile turn around point was at the top of the hill. I walked a bit up the hill. My time at 1 mile was 10:25. I was shocked!
I took a few more walk breaks on the way back (mainly because I had a killer side cramp). There was a guy with a bullhorn towards the finish line and was yelling at me, "it's time to sprint, you're almost there". (I wanted to kick him) So, I started running like a mad woman to get in under the the next minute. Now, this sounds dumb, but I cannot remember if it was 21 or 22 minutes I think I made it right under the 21 minute. My friend, Barb, finished shortly behind me so I waited for her. It was her first race as well. Her husband came out and took pictures of us. I'm sure we were looking sexy.
We didn't stick around for awards because I needed to get the boys from my mom and I figured there wasn't really a need. I had no reason to think I would win anything. I go to the Y with the boys for Healthy Kids Day and a coworker who was also at the race comes up to me and says "I told you guys you should have stayed!". Turns out I won 1st place in my age group and so did my friend! We both got trophies!!!!! She got them for us and gave them to me at the Y. I had a perma-smile on my face and probably looked like an idiot, but I was so excited!
_________________
Ok, the results are up and and my time was 20:54. There were only a few of us in my age group so it wasn't a huge victory, but I'll still take it.
The who and why
I wanted to start a journal of sorts to document my first year of running races. If you know me at all, you know that I'm not usually a runner. I detested the mile run in high school. Actually, I detested every one of the "President's Fitness Test" events. (Perhaps because my sister could hang with her chin above the stupid chin up bar for an hour and I could hang, oh, all of 2 seconds...or perhaps not.) Anyway, who would have thought I'd end up here!?
In February I decided to start running. I was super close to my weight loss goal (62 lbs)and thought this might kick it up a notch. I started doing the Couch 2 5K running plan. That first week I had to run 60 seconds followed by 90 seconds of walking. That about killed me! I reached my WL goal, and a few extra, in a few weeks and 12 weeks later I'm a true believer in the program. I still continue to run at 5:30am 3 days a week-some days I run more than others.
My official fun reason for running this year is to see how many shirts I can collect. Eventually, I'd like to make a quilt out of them. I've been challenged to collect 7 this year and I think I can pass that. You know me, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to go all the way.
I have several races planned this year. I've finished 2 so far and I'm still living to tell about it. My knees, on the other hand, are protesting a bit but I'm choosing to ignore them. =)
In February I decided to start running. I was super close to my weight loss goal (62 lbs)and thought this might kick it up a notch. I started doing the Couch 2 5K running plan. That first week I had to run 60 seconds followed by 90 seconds of walking. That about killed me! I reached my WL goal, and a few extra, in a few weeks and 12 weeks later I'm a true believer in the program. I still continue to run at 5:30am 3 days a week-some days I run more than others.
My official fun reason for running this year is to see how many shirts I can collect. Eventually, I'd like to make a quilt out of them. I've been challenged to collect 7 this year and I think I can pass that. You know me, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to go all the way.
I have several races planned this year. I've finished 2 so far and I'm still living to tell about it. My knees, on the other hand, are protesting a bit but I'm choosing to ignore them. =)
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