I'm No Longer a Virgin

This past Saturday was my first 5K. I had set out to complete the event in 30 to 36 minutes. I had no idea if this was reasonable, but my husband assured me it was. So Saturday morning rolled around and I was up by 6:15 am. Had some breakfast, my usual oatmeal with peanut butter and honey and a little iced coffee to get me going, and we were out the door by 6:45. The race was about 15 minutes away but I had not pre-registered so I needed to get there early and get my racin' bib. After signing up and getting all my goodies there was still 35 minutes left to the start time so the hubby and I found a spot on the church steps and hung out. I am told there are always people at these races that are super competitive and take these small local races quite seriously. No joke. There were people doing warm up laps around the block, wind sprints and all kinds of what could only be viewed as warm up routines. After a good chuckle I decided I should maybe stretch a little. I opted out of the wind sprints but struck gold when I found a secret bathroom. So secret I was the only one in it 10 minutes before the race. At 7:50 a.m. the announcer called for everyone to line up at the start. It was at this moment that I realized how annoyed I get with inane conversation. All these people standing around trying to make conversation. I say just stand there and shut up. At 8:00 a.m. the only wheelchair guy gets the go ahead and at 8:02 we are off.

I have never run with anyone other than my husband so I have one idea what starting in a pack of hundreds felt like. Here is what it feels like.....like I am going to fast. My first mile took 8:54, I have never run less than a 10:24 mile. I decided I needed to slow down. My next mile was at 10:51. Did I mention I have a hard time pacing myself? I get past mile 2 and I am thinking "okay, no problem, one more mile." It was a hilly course with an uphill finish. So I am coming into the finish, uphill. I can see the finish line. I can see my husband standing there waiting to take my picture. My lungs where burning and I needed to walk, but the finish was right there. This internal struggle goes on for about 10 seconds and I decide, I'll walk for about 30 seconds to catch my breath. My 30 seconds are up. I am running, trying to sprint to the finish. I cross the line, 30:58. My husband says "good job" and I say "water."

That was my first 5k. Sunday brought a 15 mile bike ride and hours on the internet trying to finds ways to pace my run. What I never found in all those hours my husband found in a mere seconds. www.djsteveboy.com has a list of house music with the tempo listed. So I used one with a 154 tempo to do my 3 miles this morning. I was skeptical because I have never liked house music, but to my surprise it kept me on pace and motivated. I ended up doing 3 miles in 32:24. The tempo was a little slow, so I'll speed it up a little next time, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt at the end. Tomorrow is a swim day. I'll keep you posted.