I Did It!

Well, I did it! I managed to finish my very first 5k. My makeup free face didn't scare any small children, I didn't vomit, I didn't die, and the tops of my thighs rubbing together didn't set my underwear on fire, so all in all it was a pretty great morning! Many moons ago one of my bodybuilder friends posted something that said, "You can do it. You can breathe. Your legs don't hurt. You can do it. Just run!" I really tried to tell myself that during the race, but here's the truth: It hurt. It hurt bad. I did feel like I couldn't breathe, and I really wanted a drink of water. But I finished. I finished with a personal best, a whopping 10 minutes faster than I have ever run 3.1 miles at home, and I did run to the finish line.
Naturally, I had a few first race issues. I pinned my race bib over what I like to call my "non baby bump" which was nice. My "Will Run for Ice Cream" headband did its job and kept the sweat out of my eyes, which was also helpful. I bought an armband to hold my cell phone so that I could listen to my music while I ran. Unfortunately, I got in a fight with it at the starting line. By the time I got it working, my music started halfway through my playlist. This was a problem, because I have the  songs memorized, and I know how much farther I have to go by which song is on. As a result, I ran out of music before I was done with the race. Note to self: Add more songs to my playlist!
I also figured out that running on asphalt is completely different than running on my treadmill. My legs were burning, and I certainly need to work on getting my wind built up. I was beaten by no less than two people pushing strollers and one guy pushing a wheelchair. I was also outrun by two boys, ages 6 and 7, who had enough energy to chat, push, and shove each other during the race.
For the race itself, I was smart enough to start toward the back of the pack. I stayed with the same few women for most of the race, most of whom appeared to be about my age. I'm sure they enjoyed listening to me huff and puff the whole time. As we were coming into the stadium, I was walking with one woman who was concerned that we were the last two runners. (We weren't. Not by a long shot.) At one point on the course, we were running in one direction and meeting the race leaders going the other way. That wasn't discouraging at all! It did help that as he went by, the ladies in front of me were saying things like, "Loser! Overachiever! Slob!" He ran the course in exactly one half of the time it took me. So at least I have room for improvement. Ha, ha!
All in all, I had a great time and accomplished something I wasn't certain I could just a few short weeks ago. And yes, I'm already looking into doing another one. I must be a glutton for punishment!