i signed up for this event forgetting that i might go out with my friend the night before. waking up at 4 am on the 4th, i was already feeling the bombs bursting in air...or my head. it was an easy decision to roll over and turn off my alarm. clearly there would be no 5k for me.
unfortunately my friend had set his alarm so my attempt to fade away into the couch failed. he kept tapping my shoulder. emilee, get up. i said, you aren't even running the event, why do you care if i do...he said, because i'm pretty sure you will be mad at yourself if you don't.
ughh...he was right...
so i woke up...but my brain kept sleeping.
we hit the road at 5am as we were told to get there by 5:45 since they said there would be a ton of traffic on the 'island'. i had written the directions down on a piece of paper that i conveniently left at the house. something about shuttle 'buses' came to mind and i saw a few yellow ones that i just assumed were going to the event....as we caught up with them we realized it was a team of little league sluggers. we started laughing and turned around.
just as i was losing faith that we were going to find this place, we noticed a large 'if you build it they will come' line of cars...oh great i thought...and there was no coffee in the car (or advil). bummer.
it was hard to keep cool since the event was to start any second but we soon learned that they were delaying all start times due to .... you guessed it...traffic!
so, i stood in line to use the honey bucket and felt my brain trying to wake up.
it was chilly in the shade. my muscles were cold.
the marathoners started about 10 minutes after we arrived. there weren't that many. after they left, all the pink bibs started to congregate. it hit me that everyone's bib was a different color to signify the event you were running.
my bib was white. there were plenty of pink bibs...this event had been sold out
they kept delaying the start since traffic was still backed up. finally it was decided to start the half given that it was a chipped event...technically they could start whenever.
there didn't seem to be many 5k runners; i still felt like a bit off but was trying to mentally prepare myself.
as the announcer said we had 5 minutes until the start someone sang the national anthem and i felt a patriotic chill of excitement run down my spine.
all of the sudden i started to come to life. initially i told myself this would be a leisure run --just go easy since i haven't been running much.
but who are we kidding...
as soon as the gun went off a surge of energy revealed itself...there was no watch wrapped around my wrist so my pace was unknown...thankfully my ipod shuffle accompanied me to hide the sound of my labored breathing
there is always a cluster of people as the gun goes off...but it quickly disperses into a stream. the sun was already out and was beating down hard. thankfully i had shed my sweatshirt prior to the start...although i was not happy about it initially...it was acting as a duvet cover...remember, although i was standing, i was still sleeping.
all systems were 'go'
it was hard to know what pace i was at...so i tried not to think about it...
the water station was at about mile one. they were ringing cow bells and cheering us on. that was nice.
there were some little kids running the event and they were doing a great job. so great in fact i started to feel a bit jealous...ha ha! the actual women's winner of the 5k was only 13 years old! yeah...seriously!
my calves started to tighten up right after the water station and as usual i thought they might explode. the internal mental debate was exhausting....should i stop and try to stretch them or keep going?
the voice telling me i would be a wimp if i stopped won.
something happened deep inside... i just became angry...not in a mean way...but i was angry at my calves. i told them they had 3 months off to party it up and take it easy but it was high time we get back at it.
when i hit the turn around point i knew that i was going to make it but my concern was that my pace would slow down...so i kept my eye on the woman ahead of me and told myself not to let her out of my site.
the calves were burning. my ankle was swollen...
the music was the only thing keeping me in it. i would keep shuffling until the right songs came on. what makes a 'right' song? well, it depends but in this particular instance, anything that made me want to run FASTER!
eventually the finish line was in site. i could see a shadow getting closer to me...i was determined to not let this person pass me.
and they didn't.
my time was 25:26 or something like that. my stomach wasn't sure what to do...so i paced around for awhile and found my friend.
my goal had been to get 27 minutes or less...so i was really happy given i haven't been running much..
later i received an email regarding the results and learned that i had finished 4th in my age group
and 38th or something overall...out of 235 or so participants...
it's nothing spectacular but it sure is a heck of a lot better than i ever thought i would do....especially since i was going to sleep right through it.
http://www.foottraffic.us/flat/
ughh...he was right...
so i woke up...but my brain kept sleeping.
we hit the road at 5am as we were told to get there by 5:45 since they said there would be a ton of traffic on the 'island'. i had written the directions down on a piece of paper that i conveniently left at the house. something about shuttle 'buses' came to mind and i saw a few yellow ones that i just assumed were going to the event....as we caught up with them we realized it was a team of little league sluggers. we started laughing and turned around.
just as i was losing faith that we were going to find this place, we noticed a large 'if you build it they will come' line of cars...oh great i thought...and there was no coffee in the car (or advil). bummer.
it was hard to keep cool since the event was to start any second but we soon learned that they were delaying all start times due to .... you guessed it...traffic!
so, i stood in line to use the honey bucket and felt my brain trying to wake up.
it was chilly in the shade. my muscles were cold.
the marathoners started about 10 minutes after we arrived. there weren't that many. after they left, all the pink bibs started to congregate. it hit me that everyone's bib was a different color to signify the event you were running.
my bib was white. there were plenty of pink bibs...this event had been sold out
they kept delaying the start since traffic was still backed up. finally it was decided to start the half given that it was a chipped event...technically they could start whenever.
there didn't seem to be many 5k runners; i still felt like a bit off but was trying to mentally prepare myself.
as the announcer said we had 5 minutes until the start someone sang the national anthem and i felt a patriotic chill of excitement run down my spine.
all of the sudden i started to come to life. initially i told myself this would be a leisure run --just go easy since i haven't been running much.
but who are we kidding...
as soon as the gun went off a surge of energy revealed itself...there was no watch wrapped around my wrist so my pace was unknown...thankfully my ipod shuffle accompanied me to hide the sound of my labored breathing
there is always a cluster of people as the gun goes off...but it quickly disperses into a stream. the sun was already out and was beating down hard. thankfully i had shed my sweatshirt prior to the start...although i was not happy about it initially...it was acting as a duvet cover...remember, although i was standing, i was still sleeping.
all systems were 'go'
it was hard to know what pace i was at...so i tried not to think about it...
the water station was at about mile one. they were ringing cow bells and cheering us on. that was nice.
there were some little kids running the event and they were doing a great job. so great in fact i started to feel a bit jealous...ha ha! the actual women's winner of the 5k was only 13 years old! yeah...seriously!
my calves started to tighten up right after the water station and as usual i thought they might explode. the internal mental debate was exhausting....should i stop and try to stretch them or keep going?
the voice telling me i would be a wimp if i stopped won.
something happened deep inside... i just became angry...not in a mean way...but i was angry at my calves. i told them they had 3 months off to party it up and take it easy but it was high time we get back at it.
when i hit the turn around point i knew that i was going to make it but my concern was that my pace would slow down...so i kept my eye on the woman ahead of me and told myself not to let her out of my site.
the calves were burning. my ankle was swollen...
the music was the only thing keeping me in it. i would keep shuffling until the right songs came on. what makes a 'right' song? well, it depends but in this particular instance, anything that made me want to run FASTER!
eventually the finish line was in site. i could see a shadow getting closer to me...i was determined to not let this person pass me.
and they didn't.
my time was 25:26 or something like that. my stomach wasn't sure what to do...so i paced around for awhile and found my friend.
my goal had been to get 27 minutes or less...so i was really happy given i haven't been running much..
later i received an email regarding the results and learned that i had finished 4th in my age group
and 38th or something overall...out of 235 or so participants...
it's nothing spectacular but it sure is a heck of a lot better than i ever thought i would do....especially since i was going to sleep right through it.
http://www.foottraffic.us/flat/
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