June Fete 5K

Somehow in my training for Broad Street I totally avoided any races. I wasn't looking to avoid racing. It just never worked out. I've been anxious to run one to see how far I've come since the Gobble Wobble 5K back in November. There was a local race this past Sunday that looked promising. I knew the course would be hilly given it's location but I really need to get over the whole hill thing. The world is a hilly place.

So Tom and I had a running date and we headed over. We did a very short warm up largely because my legs and lungs were not happy. I panicked and thought maybe I had overdone my week. Monday I had done 7 at the lake, Tuesday off, Wednesday easy 5, Thursday a big 9, Friday easy 5, and Saturday easy 4. That my legs felt like lead was not a good sign.

Tom has done lots of these and his perspective has been helpful. Years ago when I ran an occasional 5K I would basically just run it and not "race" it. Having watched Tom do these I now understand the difference. He's always saying the 5K hurts because you haul ass. But you haul ass for a relatively short period of time so why not give it everything? I went into Sunday curious how I would respond to that approach--both physically and psychologically.

So off we went. My watch is AWOL. I have no idea what Luke did with it but it's gone. I should have talked to Tom about this but I assumed there would be timed splits. Nope. So there I am running very hard with no idea how fast I'm going or how much time has passed. Nice.

I spotted a fast woman ahead of me and decided I wanted to keep her in my sights. I knew I couldn't pass her but if I held on, I thought I could bring in a good time. I bothered someone next to me who had a garmin on to tell me time and distance. She asked how old I was and if I was in her age group. Ends up I wasn't so she shared: 2 miles and around 16:20. I remember being shocked, a little surprised, excited, and thinking oh shit, I overdid it and I'm going to die on the last mile.

"Danskin lady" as I called her was still in my sights. I see Tom coming around the corner and he's hoofing it. And he gave me a big goofy smile. Then we hit mile 3 and man alive I thought that was the end of me. A steep, long hill that just seemed to never end. My face must have been terrible because one of the flag people said "I honestly don't know why people do this to themselves." I should mention that this race benefited our local hospital. I'm glad they're on board the health wagon.

I plodded my way up the hill figuring I was losing major time. But I still saw Danskin lady so I knew all was not lost. Then I spotted Tom who double backed to lend some support--I know ladies--he really is McDreamy.

I felt like major poo. My lungs were burning like they've never burned before. This time I actually said out loud I can't do this and Tom reassured me I could. I spotted the finish (and Danskin lady just ahead). I surged on. Final time something like 25:20. Tickled does not begin to describe it.

I managed to breathe down some bad nausea--a sure sign of a good race? We hung out and ends up Danskin lady is a neighbor of ours and we chatted for a while. She wants to the Distance Run too so we're going to try and hook up for some runs which would be great.

Did I mention Tom won the race? How cool is that? He was cracking me up with people stopping him to congratulate him and ask running questions. He doesn't let all the attention get to his head though-he's a nice guy. He got his award--a sweet GC for dinner (I hope he brings me!) I had checked last year's results and saw that for my age group, a time in the 25's would place me. But, like Tom always says, it all depends who shows up that day. So when they announced my group I actually wasn't paying too close attention until they said my name. I yelped with excitement: winner of the 30-39 age group!

I was just giddy and relished it all day. I gave Grace my plaque and she was eager to take it to Mom Mom's to show everyone my prize. It was so cute to hear how proud she was. I should hire her to do some PR for me.

There's bunches of good 5Ks coming up and I'm excited to see what I can do. But more importantly, it was great to hang out and meet other runners. Runners are an impressive group with their support and camaraderie. I can see why Tom likes it so much. No damage to report today. A little stiffness in the shins on a super light 4 miler but nothing else to report.