Sunday, February 14, 2010

I'm a Racer!

5.07 mi. in 1:06:00; The Frosty Five Race
Temp: I forget exactly but it was about 34° or 35° F with a wind chill in the mid-20's
Time of Day: 8 a.m.

Oh my gosh! I ran my first race. The realization is pretty exhilerating. The actual running was challenging.

I cannot thank my son, Scott, enough for his support during the race. He ran at my much-slower-than-his-normal pace and did an excellent job of encouraging and supporting me during the race. He came up with this cute little ditty that he sang to me at every mile marker to keep me going. He was wonderful.

So here's the lowdown on the race. I was so nervous I wanted to cry. As we milled around before the race I very easily could have burst into tears several times. Why? I have no clue. I didn't feel nervous or scared until we actually got to the race site. Then I guess it really hit me all at once what I was doing.

I estimate that there were probably 300-500 people racing. I'm not very good at estimating group sizes so I'm relying on my husband's and Scott's estimates. It was a good size, I think, for my first race. I was able to experience the long line for the porta potty. (Thank goodness for Starbucks across the street.) I now know what it feels like to be in a group to start off. And I encountered my first water station and picked up the cup successfully. I didn't like the fact that it splashed all over my face as I continued to run while trying to drink. (Coach Jeni said in retrospect I should have either walked while drinking or just stopped and gulped it down.)

We ran at the back of the pack. But I wasn't last AND I didn't have to walk!!! The route was a "B" shape with the start and finish lines in the middle of the "B", so that you circled around and crossed the start line at the 2.5 mile point. When I reached that point there were already people standing around who had finished the whole course. Scott told me to "ignore all those people just standing there." Which I did. There was one pretty big hill, after the water station, between the half-way point and mile 3. The-Love-of-my-Life said it wasn't that the hill was really steep, but it was pretty long, covering  a good .25 miles.

Speaking of The-Love-of-my-Life, he was so great. He took pictures (Which I will download from his phone and post here.) and cheered us on at a couple of different points. He was waiting at the finish line with a big hug and kiss. He was awesome!

So what do I think of racing? It was fun. Yes, I'm still looking forward to the half-marathon. I have a better understanding of my training and how it prepares me for racing. (Many thanks to Coach Jeni, DD1, for her expertise.)

It was a great experience yesterday. I am looking forward to continuing my training for the half-marathon. I just hope the weather breaks soon. We had 3 or 4 more inches of snow last night and it is supposed to stay cold for the rest of the week. Yes, I can do 5 miles on the treadmill, but can I do 7? We'll see.

2 comments:

  1. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You did an amazing job and had a good race, and I'm so proud of you! Lock away the good things from the race and pull those out on days when running/training is more of a struggle and hopefully they'll help you remember one of the reasons why you are doing this. Keep in mind that you are building your way slowly towards your next goal, 13 miles. Don't be overwhelmed by that big number, break it down into the next few weeks of milage build up and know that you are training strong!

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