My First 5K

Abby gave me all the training I needed for my 5K. I just didn't do the homework. Didn't I learn in school that you had to do the homework in order to be successful? You couldn't just show up the day of the test and expect to ace it.

Friday, September 6th rolled around. The day before my first 5K. I was nervous as hell. And I was scared. And I was excited. Above all, I really wished I had done all that homework. I freaked out a little, I admit it. I wasn't prepared, and it was my own damn fault! No one to blame but "Self". Now, Self and I have always been pretty good friends. But, this time, Self let me down. And I left Self down.

I text Abby to ask her what I should eat before my big run. I knew I needed something to fuel me, but nothing so substantial that I would be sick. I felt kind of silly, really. This was not a marathon. Not even a half marathon. This was a 5K. If I had done my homework, I would have known what to expect from my body.

Back to being nervous... what if I physically couldn't complete it? What if fell? Don't laugh, I have this fear of falling ever since I fell and broke my wrist this past February... that required surgery, a plate and 9 screws! You read that right; what to most people would have been a simple fall ended up totally screwing up my predominant wrist. For a secretary, that's not a good thing. I had a terrible time for several weeks with things as simple as brushing my teeth, zipping my pants and don't get me started on the whole going to the bathroom thing! So yeah, a fall is a serious freak out for me now.

I decided to just face this monster head on. And I set my goals. 

1. I would finish the 5K.
2. I would finish the 5K in less than an hour.
3. I would NOT be last.

You may not think these goals were so lofty, but don't forget about that homework I didn't do!

Before our first 5K

Abby and me pre-race

The morning came and I was just nearly beside myself with nerves. I literally felt physically ill, but knew it was nothing more than a cruel game my mind was playing with Self. I had all kinds of nervous energy, butterflies, I couldn't focus, my mind was all over the place. I completed and signed the waiver that my friend Amy handed me. Have no idea what it said, but I'm sure it was something to the effect that if I DID fall or die, it wasn't Abby's fault. Oh yeah, I forgot mention... Abby was the race director. Do you think there was EVER any chance of me NOT running in the 5K? Not a snowball's chance! When I picked up my race tshirt, I knew it was real. The nervous energy turned to excitement... a little bit. 

Me, Becky, Nickey & Abby before the race

Lynn, me, Nickey and Amy

My friend Lynn was there helping also, so it was nice to see familiar faces there to cheer us on. Lynn took some pictures before the race. Becky and Emily were there ready to run. Becky's been training with Abby for a while and is training for her first marathon now. Emily and I met in Abby's Small Group Personal Training at the Y. I got to meet Qua for the first time in person. Qua has been following my journey, so I was SO glad to meet her! Luckily, I had these folks to keep my mind occupied with something besides falling and dying. The next thing I knew, we were lining up for the start.

And, we're off!!

We were off! I tried to remember everything Abby had taught me. Lean, short quick steps, floppy ankles. In just a few short minutes in downtown Columbus, lots of people went way ahead of me. I had no idea how far 5K really is. I mean, I know it's 3.1 miles, but I have no concept with knowing how far that actually is... distance and stuff like that are for others to worry about, not me. I felt pretty good, though. I ran (OK, it was more like a jog) from the Tennessee Williams birthplace to... uh... somewhere. I don't remember where, but I was pretty sure I had already run a whole mile at least, if not more. Boy, had I really screwed that concept of distance up! I didn't see the 1 mile mark for quite a while more. What had I gotten myself into? I WAS going to die! 

Nickey and I took turns jogging and walking. She'd walk for a while, then she'd catch up to me and then I'd walk for a while. She was with me every step of the way, just like she's been with me through this entire journey. She could have run off and left me... like so many of the others did. But she didn't. She stayed with me and encouraged me. There were times between miles one and two that I honestly thought I couldn't do it. Not running anyway. But when I walked, my shins and calves seemed to hurt more. I think my legs kinda liked the whole running thing. I began to notice this older man behind me. While I was alternating between running and walking, he kept a constant pace the entire time. He passed me, I passed him, but he was completely consistent; I was way more sporadic. Imagine that!

At mile two, we got water. I was ready for it. My mouth was so dry (from all my panting!). I began to think that maybe I wouldn't die. Maybe I would finish it after all. But it wasn't easy. Luckily, there were some great cheerleaders helping us push on. My friend Kym was at an intersection telling us slower folk to go this way while the quicker folk coming from another direction were told "You're almost there". That's when it became quite obvious how far back in the pack we were. But I didn't care. I was still in it. And I was determined.

Crossing the finish line!

Trudging up that last hill, I knew we were getting close. Monica cheered for us by name. I told Nickey that once we made it up the hill, we were running the rest of the race. I was going to finish it running, by golly! So, I started running. Seeing the finish line in sight, I was coming up on Qua; I encouraged her to race to the finish. We sprinted. Qua beat me, but I loved the feeling of literally giving it all I had at the end. 

I did it! I completed my first 5K. And I did it in 46.57. And I was #116 out of 121. So, I attained my goals. And I was SO proud of myself! Abby and Nickey were both proud of me, too. 

We did it!!