I signed up for this race way back in May with a group of girls including my sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, and several friends. I was excited!
Then my training was derailed over the summer. Still, lately I've been running with my sisters-in-law to help us stay accountable for our fitness and what a blessing that has been. I can't tell you how many days I've not wanted to run, but because I had a "date" with my SILs, I went anyway and was so glad that I did. Because of this, I knew that I would be able to run a 5K without too much difficulty.
Then it was race day. I wasn't quite ready to go at the agreed upon time so we got down to the start a little late. And by a little late, I mean the race actually started without us. Only by a few minutes and because it was chip-timed, we were still able to run it. Unfortunately, it didn't leave me any time to use the restroom before hand. Let me just say to anyone who has, or ever will run a race - USE THE BATHROOM FIRST. Running a 5K while you've "gotta go" is unpleasant to say the least.
The additional problem with missing the start was that I was behind all of the walkers. And there were a lot. I had expected this. I knew there were going to be a lot of rookies who were just out to have a good time, and good for them! But I wanted to run it, so I found myself threading and weaving between all of the walkers and strollers and crazy costumes. They were in groups so it was difficult to pass and they took up the entire street including sidewalks so I found myself jumping up and down curbs just to try to get around people. I thought to myself, "You are going to fall if you're not careful". And then I did. I bit it at mi 1.5. My foot hit right where the sidewalk met some grass and I landed on my right knee and right hand. Some girl asked if I was okay a couple of times just to make sure, and I appreciated her concern, but I was so stinking mortified that I just picked myself up, told her I was fine and kept running.
At this point I was just miserable. I needed a bathroom, a bandaid, and a hug. But I just kept going. What other choice did I have? I got to the finish line and thought it didn't seem like it was a full 5K. And it wasn't. According to my phone, it was 2.71 and my time was 27.12. I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't the full distance because I wouldn't be able to compare my times to previous races but in figuring out that it was 10 min miles, I tried to stay positive. That's a pretty good pace for me and it had felt pretty good. Especially considering my training has been lackluster this summer.
I found a bathroom and then went to find everyone. As each of my friends and family completed, we all shared our own experiences on the course. I was feeling pretty down, but everyone else was in good spirits so I tried to perk myself up. We went out for some snacks and drinks and I started to relax. I told myself not to take myself so seriously and just enjoy the company I was in. By the time we headed home, I was definitely feeling better. I am sporting a bruise and scrape on my knee but that will heal. I am sure there are some more lessons I am supposed to learn from this experience, but I think I'm going to have to ponder it for a little while before I figure it out.
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| Me, Dara, Nikki (in yellow), Nicole (behind Nikki), Lara, Anne, Jen |
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