On Wednesday, I ran 3.1 miles to test my pace and assure myself that I could do it. I made it 39:46, so my goal was to run my 5K today, quicker than that (whether it was one second faster or a minute faster). After running Wednesday, I took my sister to her softball game and rolled my ankle in a hole in the lawn that I didn't see! Ugh, it has been achy since then and hurts to walk on. Running on it in a structured shoe wasn't as bad, so I still decided to run. Plus, I have been training since March for this race and I couldn't let myself down!
Today was my first 5K running by myself! (Since the last one I had to walk most of it with one of my students). I was very nervous when I arrived and I felt like I was the only one there by myself. This also had a family race aspect, so a lot of families ran together.
I drank my water, went to the restroom, stretched out a little, and then we walked to the start! What I had heard about this race from my No Boundaries coach was that the end of this race was all downhill. Even though it was a loop, the race was around my neighborhood streets so I knew the beginning of the course would be a rough uphill battle almost the entire first 2 miles. Those first two miles were rough - massive uphills, lots of walkers.
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| I wasn't able to stop my tracker right away... |
The last mile had much easier hills and the last half mile was ALL downhill- it was also definitely the quickest mile of the race!
As I neared the finish line, my mom was there and I see her trying to snap a picture as I cross and it took all I had in me not to cry. I have worked for this for months - back when I could barely run longer than a minute-and it all came down to this!
According to the picture she got with the gun time I made it at 39:22 - 20 seconds quicker than Wednesday! Chip times were just posted, and officially I ran it in 39:05! I'm thrilled with that time!
After some food, Starbucks, and a nap, I signed up for yet another 5K - a Nike Summer Race at the Metroparks by my house and couldn't be more excited! After resting a few days to help my ankle heal, the race is actually so close to my house that I can practice running the course to make sure that I know what I am getting myself into!
After the summer of 5k's, I plan on training for some 10k's! Probably start that training in September after spending a few more months getting a stronger 5K time.
Until next time-
Liz
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| the top right is at the finish line and the bottom right is at the start - i loved the race! |
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