I didn't have very grand plans or goals heading into this race. Three of my friends ran it with me, which was fun. I enjoy going to races because it's a way of sharing a love of running with like-minded people, but it's always better when you know someone.
I started out the day with a stop at a deli for something caffeinated. I had hardly slept the night before, so I knew that I'd be dead without a boost of some kind. I got to the race and registered with a lot of time to spare for a port-a-potty stop, a trip back to the car, and a warm-up. I met up with my friends around the starting line a couple of minutes before it started, and before we knew it, it was time for the race to begin.
My tactic was going to be to use gravity for speed for the first mile, hang on to that pace for the second mile, and push hard in the third mile, which has a hill. I felt very good after the first mile, and around that time I got a "good job" from a 9-year old girl I was running alongside. She was very peppy, even though she was pretty tired. She asked me when the water stop was going to be, and I told her that this was a fun race because you end on the baseball field. I was feeling good, so I wished her luck with her race and pulled ahead just before the first water stop. I was doing ok until the third mile. It was hot, and there was a hill. The energy ran out, and I slowed down a lot, until I felt that I was doing my "dead runner shuffle". I did summon up a bit of a kick at the end. There were a lot of people ahead of me who I wanted to pass, so I sprinted and made it past them, but not quite fast enough to get in under 27 minutes. My official time was 27:01.02. Here I was during the final sprint:
Holy thigh muscles! The race pictures alerted me to the necessity of working on my flailing arms and awful posture. I should be a lot more upright in full sprint, and my arms should be pinned to my sides and moving in an up and down motion instead of flapping. I went for a run this morning and noticed that I don't engage my core or back very much, so that's something to think about and work on during my runs.
Anyway, this wasn't my best race, by any means, but it wasn't horrible. I was only a couple of seconds slower than last year's time, so I shouldn't be too concerned, and just use it as motivation to train, because although I've been running, I haven't actually been training for a 5k. I congratulated the girl who I had talked to during the race, and she was so cute and happy, and gave me a high five. It was great!
My friends seemed to have similar race experiences, where it was still fulfilling, but not our best timed results. I know that I need to be more dedicated to training, and I just stumbled upon a picture on Facebook yesterday that might help that...
This is a picture of friends from middle/high school that was just taken this summer. We're all almost 30, and they look like they could be models! It sure is motivation to get in top shape. I also have a very specific fitness goal that I will be working toward that has nothing to do with body image, but rather a fundraising venture for work. I'll post about it next time, though, because speaking of work, if I don't take a shower right now and start getting ready, I'll be late!
