Yesterday I completed my third 5K (or fourth if you include the running portion of the sprint triathlon ). My other 5Ks were My First 5K and the Red Bandana Run .
This race was a bit different than the others that I've run because typically I have people to go to the start with and someone watching me. This time Caroline was running the half, but it started 45 minutes after mine and I insisted that Eric not wake up early because there comes a point in running 5Ks that I think he probably doesn't need to watch anyone one :)
I ended up arriving at the race about 3 minutes before it was supposed to start. I didn't meant to be THAT late, but I couldn't find my Garmin at the last minute and then the parking lot was much more full than I thought it would be. Oh well, less time to get nervous.
Mile 1- no split times due to missing Garmin, oh well!
I started out feeling pretty good. My ankle started hurting out of the blue and I considered stopping to stretch it out a bit but it went away on it's own. Interestingly, I was looking back on my 5K from last September and I had the same problem with my ankles. So random. But anyways, the rest of the mile was great and I was really caught up in the whole "yay I can run" thing. Plus there were a lot of kids running this race which I thought was pretty awesome.
Mile 2
Okay so I didn't officially see the mile marker in between 1 and 2, so I spent a lot of 2 thinking "oh my god please tell me I've gone at least 1 mile" haha. But I still felt good. I went by the ocean at this point and I was thinking about how awesome it was to run in such a beautiful place.
Mile 3
I did see the end of mile 2 marker so I sped up a lot at the beginning of mile 3 thinking I only had 1 mile to go. Well 1 mile is pretty far considering most of my training runs were only about 2 miles. Oops. I struggled mentally a lot during this mile because I kept thinking I was closer to the finish than I was. Eventually I did make it though.
Overall Thoughts
I really wanted to beat 30 minutes and I crossed the finish line at 30.06 which in my mind is basically beating 30 because it definitely must have taken me at least 6 seconds if not longer to actually reach the starting point. I think my race bib had a chip in it, so I may know that for sure in a few days. Either way I got my first running medal...
Eric makes fun of me for my love of medals. I realize that regardless of whether you get a medal or not, you still accomplished something. I just feel like it's cool for a race to acknowledge that a 5K IS a big accomplishment for some people. I know "real" runners would scoff at getting a medal for a 5K, but we all have our strengths and weaknesses, right?
Unfortunately I think my training for this race was not so good. Mainly my decision to train on a trail near my house instead of a street. My WHOLE body hurts today in a way I never thought it could after just running 3 miles! This includes my pesky injuries: my knee and back. I have ice on them both as we speak and I'm really hoping they can recover from this quickly. I know my injuries get worse when I run on the street which is why I tried to avoid it, but obviously I should've built up and not just done it one day suddenly. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now :) I probably will be walking my 5K next weekend though...
After the race I headed home to watch Caroline running the half marathon! She was rocking it at Mile 7...
While I was waiting for Caroline, one of the runners yelled out, "She Wears a Red Sox Cap!" and said she loves my blog! AMAZING. By far the coolest part of the day. I felt just a tiny bit famous! I have no idea who it was though, so if you are reading, tell me who you are! :) She was FLYING past and looked awesome at mile 7 too! Thanks for making me feel famous :)
I hope everyone had a good weekend :)
Yesterday I completed my third 5K (or fourth if you include the running portion of the sprint triathlon ). My other 5Ks were My First 5K and the Red Bandana Run .
This race was a bit different than the others that I've run because typically I have people to go to the start with and someone watching me. This time Caroline was running the half, but it started 45 minutes after mine and I insisted that Eric not wake up early because there comes a point in running 5Ks that I think he probably doesn't need to watch anyone one :)
I ended up arriving at the race about 3 minutes before it was supposed to start. I didn't meant to be THAT late, but I couldn't find my Garmin at the last minute and then the parking lot was much more full than I thought it would be. Oh well, less time to get nervous.
Mile 1- no split times due to missing Garmin, oh well!
I started out feeling pretty good. My ankle started hurting out of the blue and I considered stopping to stretch it out a bit but it went away on it's own. Interestingly, I was looking back on my 5K from last September and I had the same problem with my ankles. So random. But anyways, the rest of the mile was great and I was really caught up in the whole "yay I can run" thing. Plus there were a lot of kids running this race which I thought was pretty awesome.
Mile 2
Okay so I didn't officially see the mile marker in between 1 and 2, so I spent a lot of 2 thinking "oh my god please tell me I've gone at least 1 mile" haha. But I still felt good. I went by the ocean at this point and I was thinking about how awesome it was to run in such a beautiful place.
Mile 3
I did see the end of mile 2 marker so I sped up a lot at the beginning of mile 3 thinking I only had 1 mile to go. Well 1 mile is pretty far considering most of my training runs were only about 2 miles. Oops. I struggled mentally a lot during this mile because I kept thinking I was closer to the finish than I was. Eventually I did make it though.
Overall Thoughts
I really wanted to beat 30 minutes and I crossed the finish line at 30.06 which in my mind is basically beating 30 because it definitely must have taken me at least 6 seconds if not longer to actually reach the starting point. I think my race bib had a chip in it, so I may know that for sure in a few days. Either way I got my first running medal...
Eric makes fun of me for my love of medals. I realize that regardless of whether you get a medal or not, you still accomplished something. I just feel like it's cool for a race to acknowledge that a 5K IS a big accomplishment for some people. I know "real" runners would scoff at getting a medal for a 5K, but we all have our strengths and weaknesses, right?
Unfortunately I think my training for this race was not so good. Mainly my decision to train on a trail near my house instead of a street. My WHOLE body hurts today in a way I never thought it could after just running 3 miles! This includes my pesky injuries: my knee and back. I have ice on them both as we speak and I'm really hoping they can recover from this quickly. I know my injuries get worse when I run on the street which is why I tried to avoid it, but obviously I should've built up and not just done it one day suddenly. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now :) I probably will be walking my 5K next weekend though...
After the race I headed home to watch Caroline running the half marathon! She was rocking it at Mile 7...
While I was waiting for Caroline, one of the runners yelled out, "She Wears a Red Sox Cap!" and said she loves my blog! AMAZING. By far the coolest part of the day. I felt just a tiny bit famous! I have no idea who it was though, so if you are reading, tell me who you are! :) She was FLYING past and looked awesome at mile 7 too! Thanks for making me feel famous :)
I hope everyone had a good weekend :)