I've been so uninterested in writing my own blog posts on my blog lately, and I've been wanting so much to just write about running. I totally forgot that I can write about running all the time here.
I ran my first 5k yesterday. My bib number was 607. It was the Lowry Park Zoo Run Run, and it was so much fun! The only thing I regret about it was that I wore earphones and zoned out from my surroundings. We literally ran through a zoo. I heard people talking about the animals and noises when it was over, and I thought to myself...hmm...didn't hear any of that. But other than that, it was pretty awesome.
I've never been a runner. I literally started this past March with Couch to 5k. I never thought I would get into it, as I hated it when I swam in high school, so to have so much fun running a race blew my mind.
Here's a bit of a recap:
I got up at 5:30 to leave by 5:50 to get there by 6:30 for bib pickup and check in. The race started at 7:30, but I wanted to make sure and get a t-shirt (they were first come first serve), as I knew I would want to remember my first race.
I checked in, got my swag bag, checked out my bib, got my tshirt, and picked up my chip. I was happy that such a local run was chip timed, but I think it also made me focus more on time than experience. I'm such a competitive person.
I was (unrealistically) thinking that I could hold somewhere between an 8 and an 8:20 mile, so I really wanted to see my time in the 24 minute area. And I legitimately thought I was going to do it...
It was HOT (90*) and humid (90%+), but I didn't care. I was ready. I ran into a girl that I knew, so I lined up near the start with her and some of her friends I didn't know. I asked them advice, they told me to put one foot in front of the other, and then the gun went off.
I started right at it. I was READY! There was a man standing at the mile one marker reading out a timer and he said 8:29 as I passed. Since I crossed the start line 13 seconds after the gun, I was pleased that I ran the first mile at 8:16. I wasn't pleased, however, with how beat I felt already. Holy cow! I decided I needed to slow down a little bit to be able to keep going. So I did...
I don't know what my splits were the rest of the time, as I have forgotten now and my iPod was on crack apparently (it told me as I crossed the finish line that I had run 2.6 miles...umm...), but clearly I slowed down quite a lot. I ended up averaging just over a 9:00 page, so can you say died?
I am going to get a Garmin, because I definitely think knowing where I was in the race would have been super helpful. I knew I was nearing the end, but I didn't want to pick up the pace too soon. I ended up picking up the pace with less than a tenth of a mile left, so I'll definitely do it a little earlier next time. We turned a corner to run to the end and through the chute.
My final clock time was 28:09, but my chip time was 27:56. I'm thrilled with it, even though I was being unrealistic before. I got 4th in my age group out of 51 people, and I got 94th overall out of 511 runners. And it was my first race!! Now I know what to expect!
I didn't take ANY pictures during the race...sorry...
But here's my loot from the tons of stuff available after the race. Not bad for the $30 fee...
