5K AWAY!

Today I ran my first road race EVER. I woke up at 7AM to eat a decent breakfast and get ready. Then my mom, my sisters and I headed off to the stadium, to kick our collective butts and to see if we were made of tougher stuff. (Where was my dad in all of this you ask? It's Father's Day! Dad went off golfing instead. He's a golfer, not a runner so it's a perfect arrangement.)

The world of racing was new to me so I just tried to think of a regular run but it didn't keep me from getting nervous. I looked at all the chiseled, hard core runners around me and I thought, gord dermitt, what've I gotten myself into? These people had athlete written ALL OVER them and I....well.... let's say at least I was trying. My sister Jill snapped this picture of my mom and my little sister Kacy just before the race started. Note the shirt collar tug- oh, nerves!

The run was hard. I couldn't run the whole thing, so I opted to walk for a little every now and again. My body isn't used to all the hard work yet... even though I've been working out for almost two months now, it takes years of dedication to become a great runner. So I guess this is a good starting place! I've only practiced the 5K two or three times before today, because I wasn't sure I would be here for race day. This is a picture Jill snapped. She finished up 6 or 7 minutes before me so she saw me walk into the stadium and then proceed to plough the track to the finish. Action shot! (Note: The song I'm listening to in this picture is Pain by Jimmy Eat World. Appropriate since by now my lungs and legs were aching.)
It turns out that I beat my personal time by 3 minutes or so! We're still waiting for official chip times to be posted online, so that's approximate... But I was pretty proud of myself for cutting those off. And now I'm only going to get faster. I'm determined... and I think I'm hooked. I'm already eager to run another one!

Oooh, a participant medal!