First 5k in the Books

I ran my first 5k this weekend! You might have noticed that I kinda do things backwards. I signed up for a 10k and did it with little training and figured I would do the 5k eventually. Well that time is now! A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to get things moving and start running again. I had taken time off of running since my hip was pretty bothersome and I was trying to finish the semester. I finally signed up for a 5k in January to get my year off to a good start!

So I woke up the morning of the race, not feeling so great. I was having, uh, well, let's say G.I. issues. I was a bit worried and was not ready to do a little 5k, having to stop every 5 minutes to go to the bathroom! Porta potties or not... ew. I ended up getting a later start just because I wanted to make sure I was all good before heading to the race.

Once I got on the road, I ended up zoning out and missing the turn to Mount. Trashmore... I think it was my subconscious trying to drive me to Target instead of this race. I finally make it to park about 45 minutes before the start and did not see the start or anyone that looked like they were there for a race. I had a mini panic moment that I missed the start time or got the location wrong. The packet pick up the night before was less then glamorous... it was in a local running shop and consisted about 5 old men who looked like they were taking a nice nap before I walked in. Must of been a slow packet pick up! I realized later, I could have picked up my stuff the day of which would have saved me a trip to the beach. O well!

Anyhoots, after driving around for 5 minutes, I finally spot a person with a race number and figured the start is around that general area. Then I had the image of like only 10 people racing and I come in last! I even came up with a plan that if it looked like I was last, I would just do a lap around the lake and then hop in my car and go home. Then I would just tell my mom (my personal cheerleader) that she got the location wrong and the race was actually at the beach and she missed it, o well. But thankfully, more people showed up.
The start was pretty uneventful... lots of people jumping around trying to stay warm while the main race guy made announcements no one could hear. Finally the horn went off and we started. The course was really boring because it was two loops around the lake at Mount Trashmore, I was just happy it wasn't up the hill. That would bring back nightmares from high school field hockey training, eck. I had a nice pace going during the first lap and only walked a couple times. My hip was still bothering me, but tried not to think about it. As I was coming around the corner to complete the first lap, I see my little Mom standing there obviously freezing, cheering for me. That was definitely the pick me up I needed, so I told her where the finish line was and that I had one more lap to go and trotted on my way. A little after that the first place dude wizzed by me to finish. That was a bummer to be lapped, but he was so flipping fast!

So I kept a nice pace for the second lap and tried to stay with the group of ladies around me. The last lap was tougher, but I was still feeling good. Once the finish line was in sight, I kicked it up a bit. It is amazing how even though you don't feel like you have any gas left you kick it up for the finish. As I was running to the finish I saw that it was within 37 minutes, so I wanted to make sure I got in under 38 minutes. That's when I saw Mom again too and definitely turned on the jets. The crowd at the finish line started cheering for me too since I was so close to under 38... or there was a celebrity sighting and I just didn't notice because I had my headphones on. Regardless, I'm going to continue to believe everyone was cheering for me!

And the final time was... drum roll.... 37 minutes and 55 seconds. Woot woot! I'm feeling good about that... my goal was to get under 40 minutes. Success!

All in all, I had a good time with this race. I still don't feel like I was 100% prepared, but feel like I did better in general than my 10k. This race I think I walked only about 25% of the time... I'm getting there!

My hip started hurting around mile one, which was annoying, but I dealt with it. I also had some major snot issues, since it was really cold I kinda expected it, but it was still annoying. I wore gloves just so I could blow my nose. Needless to say I threw those gloves away the moment I finished. I learned I need to perfect the art of blowing my nose while running. I had to stop a few times to blow my nose. Hott!

This was the inaugural Frosty 5k and it was pretty apparent, but they made up for it with enthusiasm! It was run by our local Lions club, who according to my mom, sell brooms and collect old reading glasses. Well, they also do races now too! They were cute... great little cheer sections throughout the loop, which was encouraging.
This was definitely a lot of fun and am ready for the next one. I always get nervous about these races and many times don't want to do them the morning of, but as soon as I finish I want to do it again. I'm feeling good (besides the nagging hip) and want to step up my weekly runs to actually prepare for the next one. Right now, I have an 8k in March, but we'll see what comes up between now and then. :)