Not Coming In Last.....

Remember my 101 in 1001 list? Well, a few of those items involved running goals. There are a couple reasons for this and it was a progression. See, I've always HATED running. Loathed. Detested. Despised with the burning passion of 1000 suns. Then, I figured out that running actually is one of the only things that flattens my stomach and makes my waist go down. It changes the shape of my body.

Well, crap.

So, I restarted the Couch 2 5k, just for exercise. Then, I got a wild hair and decided to sign up for a super cool (aka Disney) 10 mile run in October. I convinced my sister to sign up with me, so I'd have someone to share "the fun" with. She has done 5k races for the past couple of years and told me that I really should run a few before our ten miler (which, did make sense).

I felt like if I did a 5k and a ten mile, I should add a half-marathon to my list. Just to round it out.

A few weeks ago, Megan texted me that she found out about a local race series during the summer. Four races, spread out over three months. She and her husband were going to sign up for it to keep them motivated. I bit the bullet and signed up, too.

On June 1, 2013, I woke up super freaking early, got my running clothes on, ate a small (healthy) breakfast, and headed to their house. The plan was that I'd ride with them, we'd pick up her mom on the way (Patti really wanted to cheer us on), and we'd get there about 15 minutes before the race started.

So, at 5:58am, on the dot, I pulled up to Megan and Bryan's house. Where it was pitch black inside.

A couple of doorbells later, Megan swung open the door, "OUR ALARM DIDN'T GO OFF!!!!!!!"

Cue Jessica standing around for the next ten minutes while those two raced around the house to get ready, let the dogs out, get the dogs back in, and scarf down a banana.

Well, Megan ran around. Bry was not too thrilled to be awake........

We eventually got in the car and on our way. After picking up Patti, we found a parking spot in a nearby street and headed to the lake.

Megan and Patti happy on an early Saturday morning....

Bryan..... wishing he hadn't been convinced to sign up.

 

We had about ten minutes before the race started. I saw a ton of people I knew and even had some time to catch up with my dear friend LAP and her husband B.

To be perfectly honest, I was terrified prior to the race start. All throughout grade school, I ALWAYS came in last in P.E. I was the kid that everyone had to wait to complete the mile run before going back to the locker rooms. While I'd been jogging along with my C25K app for sometime, I was completely overwhelmed by the idea that I'd stink this one up.

Ready to race!!!

Finally, the gun went off and the race was on. I was afraid that I'd be tempted to run too fast at the beginning and wear myself out, but I actually did a pretty good job of keeping a steady pace. Then, I surprised myself by easily passing several people I knew and thought to be better runners, as a rule.

Megan and Bry went pretty far ahead of me, at first. Megan stayed there, but by the 2nd mile, Bryan was in my sights and pretty much stayed there until we both finished (him about a minute ahead of me).

After the race, we all met up to drink our ice cold water, eat the yummy watermelon provided, and wait for our unofficial results. Once those were posted, I saw that my unofficial time was 35:00 even.

We posed for one last picture at the Finish Line and went on with the rest of our day.

To say that I didn't call a few people to regale them with the fact that I'd actually run a 5K and no one was chasing me with a gun would be a lie. Because I did and the people I called were astounded, proud, and thrilled, because they know what an accomplishment it was.

The next day, I checked online for the official time......

Gun Time - 35:00

Chip Time - 34:10

Placing - 653 out of 990

Do you know what that means?! I finished ahead of 337 people!

I already am excited about the next race that is a week from Saturday (another marvel) and already have a plan to improve my time.

See, I did make some rookie mistakes. We waited almost a minute after the gun went off to start, which is why I got 35:00 and is why my placement ended up where is was. I'm ok with all of that, but I know how I can improve that 34:10. The race is measured by the sidewalk of the lake we run. The lake is just at 2.8 miles, so we have to around just a little over once. However, for the first mile, they close down the road to traffic so runners can spread out. For the first mile, I ran on the road, not the sidewalk. As my phone alerted me to the fact that I hit 3 miles, I knew that I was still some distance from the finish line. When I crossed the finish line, I had run 3.22 miles. Next time, run on the sidewalk.

Also? Water station. That messed me up, big time. First, most everyone was stopped and crowded around the table, so I stopped, too. Then, I had trouble jogging and drinking, so I just walked while I sipped. Next time, jog around the table, grab a cup, take a swig, and keep moving.

Regardless, I'm super proud of myself and am happy to have already worked one thing off my list!

Apparently, we are the runners in the family.....