My First 5k

I had trouble sleeping last night. I lay awake, listening to the sounds of the rain and thunder, wondering whether I would be running in the rain in just a few hours. When I did sleep, I had running anxiety dreams. In one, I was running laps in my old grade school gym. I was my adult self, running with all my former fifth grade classmates, who were without exception faster than me, and laughing at me. Horrible!

But when my alarm went off at 5:45 a.m., the sounds of the rain had stopped. I got up, quickly dressed, packed up my backpack, and jumped on my bike. Yep, I biked to my 5k! Because we only have one car, and because I really wanted Jeff, Charlotte and Sam to be able to meet me at the finish line, I needed to find another way to get to the race. So, biking it was. And it was a rather pleasant bike ride. It was still dark, but the roads were quiet and the trip went smoothly.

When I got to South Park, I felt limber and warm, which was good, as I had about an hour to burn before my race started, and it was cold outside. I pinned my number on, strapped my timer to my shoe, and walked around the park and up and down Mass St. until it was time for the half-marathon to begin.

After the national anthem was sung (a surprisingly emotional moment), the runners took their marks and at the sound of the starting gun took off while the spectators and 5k/10kers on the sidelines cheered. I felt very lumpy and unprofessional next to the half-marathoners. They were all sleekly outfitted and spindly, like real distance runners. One woman was wearing what looked like a runner's bikini. That's dedication.

Ten minutes later, I was milling about with the mass of fellow 5k and 10k runners waiting for my race to begin. I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw my friend Alicia, another PhD student here at KU, who was also running. I was really glad she picked me out of the crowd. I knew having a person I knew to run with would help me perform better. We got caught up talking with each other and were both caught off guard when the starting gun suddenly went off. "Oh!" we exclaimed, laughing. And so the run began.

I'm lucky Alicia keeps a similar pace to me (a.k.a. slow...she's a beginner, too). She was running with another friend of hers and a couple of times I walked while they kept running, but each time I caught up again. I started toward the back of the pack and stayed there, although toward the end I passed a few people. I felt like I really performed slow and steady, keeping some energy in reserves for the last mile, when I really needed it.

The route was nice. Some hills, but Lawrence has bigger ones that would have been more painful. This wasn't too bad. We ran through some nice neighborhoods, and some people stood at the end of their driveways cheering us on, which was lovely. The run through campus was especially fun.

I think I knew, and my body felt, when I hit the point that was farther than I had run before. I felt a different kind of tired, but my feet just kept moving. I had no idea at that point how long I'd been running, but I was just glad I was still going and that I didn't feel as terrible as I thought I would.

The best part was crossing the bridge over Iowa St. I could see the Lied Center in the distance, and knew the finishing line was close. The sidewalk wrapping down through the parking lot up to the finish line seemed cruely long, but I quickly became distracted as I looked around for Jeff and the kids. As I approached the finish line, I spotted them off to my left. I started waving and grinning like a loon. Jeff pulled out the camera and snapped this:

One of the ugliest pictures of me ever, but I'm proud of it. Seconds later, I crossed the finish line. They called out my name (butchering the last name, naturally) and congratulating me. I somehow missed my actual time, but I know it was 38 minutes and some change. And I was done! edited to add: I found the official results online, here. Looks like my time was 38.24.4; 14th place in my age/gender bracket, 211th overall. Sweet!

We walked around a little bit, enjoying some of the free food and drinks for the atheletes and their families, before deciding it was just too cold for the kids.

All day I've been glowing. I can't believe I really did this! I'm so, so proud of myself for sticking with it despite the past few weeks, and for making it through today. And I'm really glad I did this all when Sam was still so young. I hope it's set a precedent for me and exercising...I want to make this a way of life.

So, what does that mean? It means I'm looking for another 5k to sign up for!