So Saturday I “ran” my first 5K (of twelve, but I’m crazy like that). Andy asked afterward if I had a good time. I answered with a resounding “No!” Yet, I’ll still get up and go next month and the next and the next until I’m finished with my confounded goal.
Ok so maybe “didn’t have fun” wasn’t entirely true. I had fun finishing. The running? Well, I probably should have trained, but me and running don’t really mix and I couldn’t get in the right mindset to train, so for me I had to just stop saying I was going to do it and just do it. I needed a base line.
I had a finishing goal in mind—45 minutes— and I cam in at 45:50 (5th in my age group . . .and not last), so I do consider that a win. Three things I’m taking away from my first race to prepare for my next race:
(1) Train. Why I didn’t train before hand? Like I said I kept saying I was going to do it, but never did. Now I have a starting goal to beat: 45:50. I have my base line—my time to beat. I have something to train for. I know that sounds completely ridiculous, but it’s just the way my brain works. Also, had I actually trained I probably wouldn’t have gotten a stitch in my side at 1/2 a mile and my legs probably would have worked past a mile, but whateves. . .
(2) Have something to carry all my stuff in. I had keys. I had gum. I had no pockets. I ended up with a jacket around my waist and stuff in the pockets (and worrying about losing everything the entire time). I didn’t mind carrying my phone in my hand because I had my Nike+ app on letting me know how far I was, which in turn helped me push through. I knew there was water at every mile so when I felt like I couldn’t make it anymore, I would look how far I had left to water and just keep pushing through.
(3) Run with friends. I didn’t mind the run by myself per say, but the time before and the time after it kinda sucked that I wasn’t just standing there with no one. It would have been fun to get excited about the race with friends instead of just standing around like I was lost wondering what in the world I had gotten myself into.
So there you have it. One race down, eleven to go.
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