5K = OK
It has been two years since last I attempted a 5K race. Since the 10-miler in April went so tragically wrong, I decided to enter another race to get a gauge for fitness. Today, I ran a race in Duluth, Georgia. Duluth's biggest claim to fame of late has been the whole "runaway bride" fiasco. This 5K race only has about 200 runners participating, which is a refreshing change from many of the races in Atlanta proper.
I drove up this morning in time to give myself an hour to work through anxiety and prepare for the race. One thing I realized during this warm-up period was that I definitely needed to wash my hat. I felt like Pigpen from the Peanuts with little gnats flying around. No doubt they were drawn by the sweet stench of my Nike Dri-Fit hat that I'd been neglecting to wash. Recognizing how bad it was, I could barely stand myself.
Knowing this was a small race and I could possibly finish in the top 25-30 runners, I lined up at about the third row from the start. I pondered about the others who joined me there and whether they indeed needed to be so close. The race starts and we spirit off. I go through the first mile in a decent (for me) 6:50 split, according the guy calling out times. I hit the second mile slowing down a bit at 14:22. I think it was during the second mile that I was passed by not one, but two men pushing baby joggers. I made some comment to them about being utterly demoralized. They jokingly responded that they were assisted by some sort of propulsion system. The remainder of the course had two generous hills to conquer, so I really slowed down in the third mile (not sure what that split was). Nonetheless, I passed the men pushing the joggers and managed to come in ahead of them. Finish time: 23:44, second in my age group. I wasn't too disappointed. I had set a goal of coming under 24:00 minutes, which I accomplished. However, I still have much work to do in the upcoming months to get me where I'd like to be.
Reinforced for me during this race was the notion that you can't judge a runner by looking at them. My husband jokes about the "zombies" running ahead of me during certain races. A nine-year-old girl finished about 10 seconds ahead of me. There was a woman I noticed warming up who looked as though she'd kick butt. I passed her with about a quarter mile left in the race (and felt pretty good about it too). However, the woman who won my age group (4 seconds ahead of me) didn't look like Ms. Superfit or anything. Then again, neither do I....
I drove up this morning in time to give myself an hour to work through anxiety and prepare for the race. One thing I realized during this warm-up period was that I definitely needed to wash my hat. I felt like Pigpen from the Peanuts with little gnats flying around. No doubt they were drawn by the sweet stench of my Nike Dri-Fit hat that I'd been neglecting to wash. Recognizing how bad it was, I could barely stand myself.
Knowing this was a small race and I could possibly finish in the top 25-30 runners, I lined up at about the third row from the start. I pondered about the others who joined me there and whether they indeed needed to be so close. The race starts and we spirit off. I go through the first mile in a decent (for me) 6:50 split, according the guy calling out times. I hit the second mile slowing down a bit at 14:22. I think it was during the second mile that I was passed by not one, but two men pushing baby joggers. I made some comment to them about being utterly demoralized. They jokingly responded that they were assisted by some sort of propulsion system. The remainder of the course had two generous hills to conquer, so I really slowed down in the third mile (not sure what that split was). Nonetheless, I passed the men pushing the joggers and managed to come in ahead of them. Finish time: 23:44, second in my age group. I wasn't too disappointed. I had set a goal of coming under 24:00 minutes, which I accomplished. However, I still have much work to do in the upcoming months to get me where I'd like to be.
Reinforced for me during this race was the notion that you can't judge a runner by looking at them. My husband jokes about the "zombies" running ahead of me during certain races. A nine-year-old girl finished about 10 seconds ahead of me. There was a woman I noticed warming up who looked as though she'd kick butt. I passed her with about a quarter mile left in the race (and felt pretty good about it too). However, the woman who won my age group (4 seconds ahead of me) didn't look like Ms. Superfit or anything. Then again, neither do I....
posted by runninchick at 1:18 PM
1 Comments:
I just did a 5K in Deerfield, Massachusetts where I live. There were maybe 80 runners. I am not a 5K runner, but it is a good work out for me. I did what I set out to do, I got in under 20 minutes. I am always amazed at the variety of human shapes who line up to race. I used to be one of the people who got looks of disbelief when I identified myself as a runner. I have since lost 40 lbs. and people believe me when I tell them that I am runner.
Keep on running and writing
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