I think I'll race.

I've got a secret. I'm a procrastinator. I never opened the textbook until the night before the test, I don't lay out my clothes the night before, and despite my best intentions, I can never get to bed early. So it kind of makes sense that I decided to run a 5K without any preparation. I thought about it. Tried a two-mile trail run last week (where I averaged a 14-minute mile) and contemplated. My calf, which so brutally betrayed me about this time last year, felt okay after two miles. And I've been lifting, doing yoga, experimenting at a fight club, etc. so I would guess I'm in relatively good shape. Still unsure, I found a race I was interested in and circled the day on my calendar. Maybe if I didn't allow for time to stress over it, everything would turn out okay...

So awkward. Haha.

Well, today was the day. The day I took a chance and came out on the winning side. Almost one year to the date of my last race, and about 10 months since the medically induced moratorium on running, I found a 5K and turned in a time that shocked me--29:07:06

Racing buffs may not be impressed with this, but it's kind of a big deal for me. I had an eye on my watch and knew barring any major mental/physical implosion, I would hit somewhere around 30. In the home stretch, I saw the clock at 28 minutes and started sprinting. My last 5K I finished in 30:30, and I was shocked to round that corner and see the time clock. I thought after nearly a year of running silence, and an ugly 2-mile "prep run" last week, there was no way I'd finish the run in under 30 minutes. And yet there I was, rain-soaked and soggy, staring at a clock clearly showing me I hadn't yet been gone for a half hour. 28 minutes. 28 minutes?! The length of the run, I was waiting for my calf to tear again, but now the end was in sight and I wanted that sub-30 time! I lengthened my stride and blew past my pacer. My parents took time out of their Saturday morning to watch me in the rain, and while I was staring at the clock, I became aware of someone yelling: "YOU GO GIRRRL!!" (That would be my dad.) I knew a few meters out that I wouldn't make it in 28 minutes, so I was determined to finish just over 29 minutes. I passed the clock at 29:05 and my race chip beeped two steps later. If I'm being totally honest, I'm pretty bummed I didn't hit in 28. But I still think it was a great race for me. And I have a new benchmark: 28 minutes. 

Finish line!

Sucking wind.

I've known about this race for about 3 years, but this is the first opportunity I actually had to run it. It is through the Travis Manion Foundation/9-11 Heroes Race and is hosted annually the weekend before September 11th. It is a multi-city race, so there are several sites across many time zones participating (Iraq and Afghanistan included.) It's a pretty cool organization that works to support military/veterans/first responders. Race proceeds are split with 50% going to the Foundation and 50% going to local charities supporting the aforementioned groups. It was a great, rainy race, and I hope to run again next year. 

 

Also, it seems today was a popular race day. I had friends competing in triathlons from Richmond to Nashville, and a fellow boot camper had a half-marathon. (I think we all dealt with rain too.) Looking forward to their stories, and ready to start looking for that next race!!