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Resolution Run 5K

December 31, 2009 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 23 degrees; Clear w/ snow on ground

Comments:
This run (or more accurately, jog) was the official kick-off to a year of running for 2010. My resolution: 12 races in 12 months during 2010.

The plan: work up to a 10K by May and a half-marathon by August. I'm not planning a full marathon at this point -- I'm not TOTALLY insane!

I was nervous driving to the race, since this is the my first 5K run since I was a senior in high school (I'm 44 now). Oh sure, I've done a few 5K Girl Scout WALKS with my daughter since then, but my goal was to run (okay, JOG) the whole 5K. And furthermore, I was doing it solo. I couldn't talk anyone into joining me in running in the snow at 6pm on New Years Eve -- imagine!

There were over 1300 people there (at least I saw some guy with 1300+ on his racing bib, so I assume that means there were at least that many folks registered (no one I knew though)!

Honestly, I wasn't sure I could run (jog) the whole race. I've only just started training, and not very consistently at that. The most I had done leading up to it was run/walk intervals of 5/1 (minutes). And, I was frankly a little thrown off when I turned on my ipod (that used to be my 11 year old son's) right before the race to realize I had somehow erased all the songs on it sometime that afternoon -- how DO you use these things?) I was really counting on some good tunes to get me through, but it was not to be.

Knowing I'd be slow, at best, I positioned myself about two-thirds of the way back in the pack behind the START line. And sure enough, minutes or even seconds into the race a slew of runners sprinted ahead of me. "I don't care," I told myself (I told you, I was running by myself, so I talked to myself a lot through the race). But let's be honest, who likes to be passed? Still, I told myself not to be influenced by the pace of others. "Keep a steady pace, keep a steady pace..."

The sound of pre-race music set my pace the entire race. "You spin me right round, baby right round..." (just the chorus, though, over and over -- "hmm, hmm, hmm ...right round, right round...hmm-hmm hmm-hmm, baby, right round" -- because that's all I actually know). And before I knew it, I was at mile marker 1.

One-third of the way there, and I felt fine! I could do this! Only two more like the first -- no problem! I wasn't breaking any records, mind you. Minutes after I passed mile marker 1 I could hear the announcer on the PA system cheering on the first folks to cross the finish line. And I was passed at one point by a 50-ish woman RACEWALKING the race. But I DID IT! I ran (OKAY -- jogged!) the whole thing. And I didn't once wipe out on the ice.

My time: 40:28. On my cool-down walk back to my car, I was able to do the long-division in my head (math is not my strong-suit) and figured I ran about a 13-minute mile. Not bad for a middle aged gal out for her first 5K in over 25 years.

If I can do that, who knows? Maybe the 10K and half-marathons really will be possible.