Mission Accomplished...

If someone had told me one year ago that I would be able to run a 5K this summer, I would have thought him to be crazy. I detested exercise - especially in the heat - and I was so out of shape that a flight of stairs could do me in.

This morning I arose at 4:40 a.m., donned my running clothes and tennies and, with my husband, headed to my first race. I didn't sleep well last night, not only because of nerves, but one of our dogs decided to sleep in our room, and she was on and off the bed making as much noise as a 9 pound ball of fur can make. Despite the lack of sleep, I wasn't that tired. When my husband was driving the forty-five minutes to Jasper, he commented that he felt like a father taking his kid to a baseball game. I do admit that without his support, I would have still been curled up in bed, not preparing to run.

So, we arrived, checked in, and waited. I am always early for events, but I need to acclimate myself to my surroundings. We saw a young man who grew up in our town soon after we arrived. He said that he had recently begun running in 5Ks, and loves it. We also saw a women with whom my husband and I have both worked. She had just had her fourth baby in May, and was running this race. Wow! Although it was only 7:00 a.m. our time (time zones around here are crazy), it was getting hot and humid. The high today was going to be 96, and we were well on our way to the 90s.

Soon it was time to line up. I knew that my pace was slow, so I didn't want to be in front. I thought that others might also have a slow pace, but when the siren went off to start, the other runners seemed to just leave me in their dust. It was intimidating. It's easy to say that I don't care that I am slow, I just want to finish, but when I was suddenly alone (or so I thought), I wished that I could be faster. As I proceeded down the first hill, I could hear a family behind me with small children. I couldn't bear to look back and see that they were possibly the only ones back there. I just kept my pace. I know that my first mile is always difficult to get through, so I pushed and kept positive. A couple of the runners began to slow, so I wasn't completely alone. I picked a couple of women around me that I wanted to beat (so, I am a little competitive), and forged ahead. The course description said that there were three hills. I guess they only counted the big hills, because I certainly counted more than three! I definitely know that I need to do more hill work. At one point I wondered why I ever signed up for the race. It really wasn't very fun, but I was determined not to walk. I have been running over three miles, so I knew that I could do it, but it was hard. As we were running the last mile, I saw two teenagers walking in front of me. How great would it be to beat them?? I was closing in, but as soon as they heard my heavy breathing, they took off running. The last 2/10 of a mile was uphill. My original plan was to really pick up my pace at the end, but that plan changed when I saw that hill. I just wanted to get to the top - without walking. I made it, and I crossed the finish line. As soon as I was near my husband, I pointed out that there were others behind me. I wasn't last.

My time was 33:01, which is not good, but I finished. Now my goal is to improve my time a little each race. I think I would have had a better time today if it weren't for the hills. I normally run about 11 minute miles on flat ground, so in a sense (at least in my mind) my time was better. When we talked to a couple of experienced runners after the race, they told me that I had chosen a tough course for my first race. Guess I'm a tough gal!!