I did it!

After a week of bad runs, horrible shin splints and feeling like my body was hating me, I ran my first 5k (3.1 miles) on Sunday and out performed myself. Throughout the week, I had horrible runs; my body just wasn't handling the runs very well and I was feeling very discouraged. So on Thursday, I decided I really needed to invest in good running shoes if I was going to stick with this. I went to this great store, Runner's Alley in Manchester, and they were amazing. I spent about an hour there trying to decide between two pairs, both of which were great, but just trying to figure out which pair was the best for me.

Thursday afternoon, I took them for a quick test run. Despite the pain in my body, I knew it wasn't a result from the shoes, and I was happy with my purchase. I knew though that if I wanted to do well on Sunday, it meant no running until then. I was nervous because it seems like anytime I take a break, I regress, and I didn't want that to happen on Sunday. So I didn't run Friday or Saturday.

I went to bed early on Saturday night, and woke up feeling refreshed and anxious to run. I arrived at the State Park around 9:30 and immediately ran into a few people I knew. I felt better, because I had gone alone and it was nice to see some familiar faces.

I didn't know where to set myself up. There were more than 200 people and I was afraid of getting bogged down by the crowd. Fortunately the people I knew suggested we head up to the front. When we were there, Jess had mentioned she had seen me running but hadn't seen me at the last local 5k. I mentioned that while I had been running for a little while, this was my first race. She asked what my goal would be for myself. I said I'd be happy if I could get to an 8:00 mile. The fastest I have been so far is a 8:30 mile. I knew 8:00 minutes might be pushing it but maybe I needed the challenge.

There were a lot of kids on the starting line, which I wasn't looking forward to. When the gun shot went off, it was pretty intense. I took off, running pretty hard. I was trying to stay on Jess's heels, because I knew if I could do that, I'd do pretty well. A lot of the kids dropped out quickly which became an obstacle course for everyone trying to get around them.

At mile 1, I glanced down at my watch. I knew I had been running hard, but I didn't expect my first mile to be completed in 7:12 minutes. I also knew I had to slow down because I was breathing harder than I expected and I wanted to finish this race. I kept Jess in my sights for most of the run; it became my goal to keep up with her.

At mile 2, I had slowed down considerably. My second mile was about 8:45 minutes. Which I needed to recover from the first mile, and to keep myself going for the final mile plus. Finally, I heard the crowds, the finish line was much closer than I had expected. So I started pushing myself again. My body was tired and I was breathing hard, but I knew I only had a little more to go.

Finally, after weaving through the wooded roads of the Park, the finish line was in sight and I was running. I just wanted to be there! I crossed the finish line at 24:15. My final mile plus was about 8:15. Doing the math, its about an average of a 7:49 mile. I've never run that fast, but clearly I was determined. Afterwards, I did a lot of walking around, chatting with people and trying to recover with food and beverages.

I stayed for a while, waiting on awards and all the raffles. I didn't win anything, but I won the accomplishment of knowing I could finish a 5k and perform well. My body was definitely sore the day after, but I recovered faster than I thought I would. By today, my shins feel great, and I'm ready to get some more miles in. I did take Monday off, and I ran yesterday. I was pretty sore, but I did my usual 2.6 mile loop in 22 minutes, an 8:27 mile, which is where I like to be.

The official results have now come out. I finished #31 out of 207 participants. I am thrilled with my performance and can't wait to run another 5k, which I've already put on my calendar for next month. Below is a link to the results page, if you're interested.

http://www.kearsarge.org/sutton/lib/sutton/Overall10.pdf