My Journey to a 5K

So I've wondered about this post for the last two weeks.
Would it even be written?
What would it sound like?
Would it have a happy ending?
Would it just sit in my "drafts" waiting to be posted?

As most of you know (if you follow my blog, that is) I began running about five weeks ago. With lots of "support" from my sweet hubby. I was totally excited and content with the thought of being ready for The Big Red Apple 5K in October. I would have five whole months to prepare for it after all. When a friend first put the idea of running a 5K in early June in my mind I thought that she was nuts! There is NO way I could do THAT! But the more I thought about it the more I really wanted to do it. Then I signed up and the nerves hit and every time I thought about it I just wanted to puke in my lap. What had I done?

I received lots of encouraging words from Jay and the kiddos. Jay said things like "just don't be the last one to finish" and "don't fall down". Jackson was so sweet, he said "mom, I hope you win". I explained to him that I wouldn't win, but just getting out there and doing it (and finishing under my own power) was enough for me. Hailey was practical and said "you'll win if you run fast like me".

Race day: The heat did a serious number on me. I'm accustomed to running at 6 AM and the race didn't start until 10:30, when it was a humid, blazing 80 something degrees. I felt like I had realistic expectations for what I wanted to do. I was hoping to come in around 40 minutes and I finished in 43:38, which is really good considering my mental breakdowns during the race. At 1.5 miles I thought "I have started and finished my race career all in one day". At the 2.5 mile mark I thought "I'm just gonna go over in that ditch and puke now". (Don't you just love the word "puke" in blog posts?). At another point, I'm not sure when, a man (probably in his mid-forties) ran by me and all I could think was "well crap, I'm getting out ran by an old man". There are no pictures of me finishing my first 5K because Jay said he didn't know which way we were coming into the park (not that there wasn't any racers finishing 20 minutes before me that would have clued him in on that one). Oh well, maybe it's just as well..... it wasn't a pretty site! When we left Pitts Park I showed Jay the race route. When he saw the first "big" hill he said "you ran up that?". It felt pretty good saying "nope, but almost".

"For those of you who do make it, you will cross that finish line as a different person. You will be forever changed by the experience. You will learn more about yourself in the next day than you have previously known in an entire lifetime." ~ Dean Karnazes

The day after: My right heel hurts. BAD. I'm pretty sure that it's just bruised. I'm praying that it's just bruised. Other than that, I'm excited and looking forward to my next 5K! But you can bet that it wont be in the heat of the day again.... they can just keep their stinking tee-shirt.

As a treat for myself and all of my hard work (and it has been HARD) I ordered this super cute necklace in honor of my very first race. I had her put Saturday's date instead of the distance on the rectangle tag.

Official race results here.