Today is February 4th, 2014, but I wrote this post on 1/26/14 and just never posted it. And yes I realize that this post is seriously late. I have no excuse other than I'm late for most things in life. :)
Anywho.....
The morning began very early for a Saturday.
Who am I kidding 5 a.m. is early for a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well.
Got up and made some coffee, got dressed, yadda, yadda, etc., etc...
Arrived at the George R. Brown Convention Center around 7:15 a.m. and it was SO FREAKIN' COLD outside I thought we would become popsicles. From where my husband dropped us off to where the race actually started was around 5 blocks away due to the roads being closed here and there so we walked as fast as we could. Which in hindsight was a nice way to warm up before the race. Unfortunately we were a bit early due so we ducked inside a place called Phoenicia to wait and use the bathroom. We weren't the only ones either, there were lots of fellow racers coming in and out of the store.
About 10 min before the start we headed out so I could do a little walking around/jogging in place to warm up before the gun went off. I had no plans of trying to be in the front, but didn't want to be too far in the back either.
Anywho.....
The morning began very early for a Saturday.
Who am I kidding 5 a.m. is early for a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well.
Got up and made some coffee, got dressed, yadda, yadda, etc., etc...
Arrived at the George R. Brown Convention Center around 7:15 a.m. and it was SO FREAKIN' COLD outside I thought we would become popsicles. From where my husband dropped us off to where the race actually started was around 5 blocks away due to the roads being closed here and there so we walked as fast as we could. Which in hindsight was a nice way to warm up before the race. Unfortunately we were a bit early due so we ducked inside a place called Phoenicia to wait and use the bathroom. We weren't the only ones either, there were lots of fellow racers coming in and out of the store.
About 10 min before the start we headed out so I could do a little walking around/jogging in place to warm up before the gun went off. I had no plans of trying to be in the front, but didn't want to be too far in the back either.
Once the gun went off I waited probably 1-2 minutes before I started. See I had learned something I didn't know the day before when I picked up my race bib; your time doesn't start until you cross the starting line so it doesn't matter if you wait a bit to let the crowds thin out. That is unless of course your goal is to be seen crossing the finish line at the front of the pack, then by all means you need to be up front and start when the gun goes off. Since my goal was to finish (in under 40 min) I had no need to hurry across the line.
I had been using the RunDouble app as my guide for my training and as it just so happened my 5k fell on Week 6 Day 3. The goal for that day is a 5 min warm up followed by a 22 min easy run and then a 5 min cool down. My plan was to extend the running portion to 25 minutes, walk and then do a sprint across the finish line at the end so I could get a good photo.
In a weird twist of fate it just so happened that right around the 24 minute mark I spotted my racing team coach, Francois, on the sidelines and he spotted me right back. He was standing on the sidewalk taking pictures and cheering on the runners. Other members of the team were also in the 5k, but they were they type mentioned above...they wanted to be seen crossing the finish line at the front of the pack...and so they had been by him in about half the time as me. I thought it was so kind of him to stay and wait to cheer me on. He ended up jogging along side me (on the sidewalk) for a bit then sprinted ahead to be able to get some photos of me approaching him as I ran. I have yet to see the pictures so I have no idea what I looked like at this point.
Well now I had to keep running. I had made it to 2.5 miles without stopping and so I decided to run the remainder no matter how slow.
37:01 is my official first ever 5k time.
Not too bad if I say so myself. I really had to do a lot of "self talk" near the end so I wouldn't give in to the urge to walk. Not there is anything wrong with walking, but I just had this goal in my head.
In a weird twist of fate it just so happened that right around the 24 minute mark I spotted my racing team coach, Francois, on the sidelines and he spotted me right back. He was standing on the sidewalk taking pictures and cheering on the runners. Other members of the team were also in the 5k, but they were they type mentioned above...they wanted to be seen crossing the finish line at the front of the pack...and so they had been by him in about half the time as me. I thought it was so kind of him to stay and wait to cheer me on. He ended up jogging along side me (on the sidewalk) for a bit then sprinted ahead to be able to get some photos of me approaching him as I ran. I have yet to see the pictures so I have no idea what I looked like at this point.
Well now I had to keep running. I had made it to 2.5 miles without stopping and so I decided to run the remainder no matter how slow.
37:01 is my official first ever 5k time.
Not too bad if I say so myself. I really had to do a lot of "self talk" near the end so I wouldn't give in to the urge to walk. Not there is anything wrong with walking, but I just had this goal in my head.
Alex was at the finish line, but with all the people she didn't see me when I crossed and so I have no photo :( Well actually I keep getting these emails where I can buy the "official" race photos, but I don't like any of them AND they are really expensive. I can live without them.
My plan is to frame the bib and the medal to hang in my bedroom. I plan to do that with all the race bibs/medals I get in the future as well. I want to remind myself of how far I have come and motivate myself to go even farther!
Got to run...
My plan is to frame the bib and the medal to hang in my bedroom. I plan to do that with all the race bibs/medals I get in the future as well. I want to remind myself of how far I have come and motivate myself to go even farther!
Got to run...