My First 5k Race

I completed my first 5k race yesterday morning.

I knew that it was going to be a good day when I picked up my race packet and was handed my bib number: 444.

I took it to be a lucky number, though part of me wondered if I shouldn't dress in yellow. As Yellow Cab was not my official sponsor, I decided that the feeling was unwarranted.

It was a little unnerving, arriving at the race location and seeing so many runners and their .5% body fat, stretching, flaunting their in-shapedness for all to see. Of the three events, running I feel will be the hardest. Track or treadmill and I do great. Pavement, even dirt path, has been my running bane.

It's my own fault really. Whether it was simply the unwillingness to put myself on display or the fear of the temporary pain as my body transitioned from the cushiness of the treadmill to the unforgiviness of the pavement, or both, I don't know.

So, fair or not, I picked a few people out of the crowd and thought to myself, "hey, if they can do this, so can I."

The gun went off and I was swept up in the crowd of runners.

Two minutes into the run I began to have buyers remorse.

What in the hell had I gotten myself into?

This was hard!

And it certainly was uncomfortable!

Running on concrete really sucked! Goats!

I could turn around, lie about my time (never mind the fact that if anyone checked the official times posted online, I would show up without a time) and just go home to the warmth of my house.

So once again I picked someone out of the crowd ahead of me, someone who, like me, looked like she was struggling, and paced her. We played several rounds of leap frog.
I didn't get her name, or even her bib number, so I could have thanked her, whether she realized or not the game that I had played with her.

The first mile marker came sooner than I had expected and was thrilled when the marshall called out my first split time. Rock on! I was 22 seconds under my goal.

The water station, marking the halfway point came and went.

Families dotted the race course, some holding signs cheering on family members. Course marshalls cheered on runners as they made their ways through intersections. It camraderie was uplifting and encouraging.

Shortly after the two mile marker, when my legs really began to burn and I began to huff and puff, I really let the random thoughts begin to fly. What came to my mind was a logo my brother and I had discussed in an email exchange one day. It was the logo that I should have put on my shorts and top for tri day:

A cartoon person in a wet suit, flippers, snorkel mask, swimmies and an inner tube in the shape of a duck.

If I found this image funny when it was first discussed, I found it hysterical during my run. It actually made me laugh outloud. It re-energized me and pushed me on.

All in all, it was a good day for runner 444.

I am happy to report that I placed 639th among 677 participants.

Yay me for not being last.

Okay, so that really wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that they made a huge announcement when the last runner crossed the finish line. That would be the kind of attention that would make me want to find the closest rock to crawl under.

My goal, without any real thought to back it up (aside from "Hey, that sounds like a nice number."), was to complete in about 40 minutes.

My final chip time (secured to my running shoe with the help of twist ties) was 40:39.