Week 23 - Weigh-In and CT RACE IN THE PARK 2010

Well, this morning I was 219. I really tried harder this week on health eating in anticipation of the 5K I ran this morning.

Let me tell yo...running the 5K this morning was exhilarating. Last night I was pretty anxious. My knees were hurting as well as my Achilles on my right foot. So, I went to bed trying hard to relax. I got up at 5:30am. Showered, relaxed a bit in the shower, started drinking water. Ate half a roll, some Rice Chex, and an apple. I've read that you should never run on an empty stomach, but to eat a couple of hours before the race. Had a coffee on my way there, a small coffee...I've also read that a little caffeine can boost your race as well. I also had a Powerbar. This was an hour before the 8am start. I parked at work, and walked the 1/2 mile or so from there to the starting line. When I got there, I checked out the starting line, checked in my bag, and did a warm up jog/walk around the the park (Walnut Hill Park in New Britain). After that I stretched. Though, my stretching was interrupted by a downpour. I joined the rest of the racers in the bandshell and continued to stretch. The rain died down enough that I decided to check out the starting line again. It was about 7:45 now. I saw my cousin there which was great, because by then...I was doing a lot of slow deep breaths to keep the nerves in check. It was great having a familiar face there with me. Soon after I met up with a couple of co-workers. My cousin had just got off work (Third-Shift as a Cheshire Police Officer). Then it REALLY started to downpour. Which was very refreshing, though my cousin didn't really appreciate it. Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes. The announcer told us all to walk up the starting line, and then the horn blasted an we were off. My cousin and I said our goodbyes because I knew my pace was slower then his. I got my music rolling and my watch ticking and I was golden. It was such a rush running with hundreds of other people. I couldn't contain how happy it made me to be a part of the event, I barely thought about running while in the park. Once we got out of the park, I was really encouraged by spectators cheering us on. I started looking around me for people I thought might be my pace and chose to follow them to keep a pace. I ended up with a first mile of about 9.5 minutes. During the second mile, I slowed...had to speed walk for a bit to lower my heart rate and breathing. I loved that there were people with cups of water handing them out. That was so cool. I always wanted to snatch a water from someone during a race, down it in my mouth and all down the front of me, and throw the cup to the ground. Ah, the simple things! Then, coming up on mile two I notice a familiar beauty of a red head in the distance standing by a stroller of two kids. MY FAMILY!! So encouraging to see them cheering me on, my little Gracie looked so proud, I ran over to them to just touch them before the final mile. The last mile was pretty tough. Some small hills and turns. I did my best to keep pace and keep my heart rate and breathing down. I knew I was going to need energy once I got back into the park. And so I did. Once back in the park, I could see the finish line in the distance, and over my music, I could hear the crowd. I threw off the headphones and let the cheers from the finish line be my music. I knew now was the time to give it my all. I was just shy over 30 minutes so, I bolted it. Everything in me wanted to walk it, but I was not going to be the pansy guy walking over the finish line. And so pushing toward the end...I MADE IT. 31 and half minutes! I don't have an exact time yet, because they hadn't printed the results by the time I left. Volunteers handed me some water at the end and I FELT GREAT!! :) The rain held off the entire race and it was cool and misty...perfect for running.

Well...there you have it, my first 5000 Meter Race. Onto training for a Half Marathon?? I don't know...I am thinking about switching my registration to the 5K on June 27th. I am enjoying the 5K right now so much that I think I don't want to force myself too much to the point where I might get hurt. 5K to Half Marathon is a big jump in 7 Weeks. What say all of you? Couple of more 5Ks, maybe a 10K? Hmmmm?