April Fools 5K Recap

Bright and early Saturday morning, Dan and I got up and headed to our first 5K race- for me, my first in 2014; for Dan, his first ever.  I was both excited and nervous not knowing what to expect in terms of how my training has been going and how my legs would hold up after about a week and a half of limited activity.  My legs were feeling okay, but not 100% yet.

It was about a 15 minute walk from parking to the race area, nice little warm up before time. The starting area wasn't too crowded, race organizers said there were over 500 participants signed up.

Pre-race selfies

At 9:00, we were off. The race, from my point of view:
Mile 1: Okay, I can do this, my legs feel okay, not too much shin pain. Don't go out too fast. Stay out of the way of the faster runners. Wow, it's sunny, wish I wore my sunglasses. My shin hurts a little bit, don't give up.  A hill already? Okay, now my shin is really hurting.  Slow down a little bit. Is it too soon to walk?  Screw it, I need to walk a minute. Okay, start running again. Ow ow ow. Tweak foot strike, that feels better. Ow ow ow, maybe not. Crap, look how far people are already. That bridge over there is so far away. Walk again. There's a sign- 1 mile- it's only been 1 mile?
Mile 2: Try a run/walk combo like the girl in front of you in the sparkly pants.  Wow, those pants sparkle. Ow ow ow, shin definitely not healed yet.  Let's walk/walk instead.  Speed walk, speed walk. Is it 3 miles yet? Every step hurts. Oh, finally at that bridge I saw across the lake.  WTF, we have to go past the bridge and then double back to it? Water station. Ooh, this water is icy cold. Okay, let's run again, run from here to the bridge. Ow ow ow. Maybe not.  I hate this. I can't even handle a 5K, I'm never going to make 13.1 miles. Definitely think I should defer my 2014 half marathon registration to 2015.  I'm going to fail. Screw this. Is there a golf cart that can come pick me up? People are done already, I hate them. Oh, another sign, 2 miles- whew, this torture is almost done.
Mile 3: Home stretch. Toughen up Kristin, stop being weak.  Run/walk some more.  Your leg isn't that bad. Stop using it as an excuse. Ow ow ow. Okay, yes it is that bad.  Walk now has a bit of a limp to it. Suck it up buttercup, you are not going to walk across that finish line.  Dig deep and give this last half mile what you can. Look, you can see the finish line now. Your leg can handle it. One more step, one more step. Finish line crossed, medal in hand, thank God that's over. But, I did it!  I survived!  I did better than anyone who didn't sign up and is currently lying on their couch!

Girl on fire, crossing the finish line.  Where can I get that shin transplant?

So yeah, around mile 2, I gave up. I gave in to my shin and I know I used it as an excuse to just quit.  I know I could have toughed it out more and done better.

Final time: 49:40.  Disappointed in myself.  Some of that less-than-stellar time can be attributed to walking because of shin pain, but a good part of it was my crappy attitude as well.

While I completed the race, I don't feel like I fully earned this medal.

After the race, Dan and I celebrated our first race, as all races should be celebrated.  With tequila. Followed then by a nap.

Mmmmm, margarita....

What I learned from this race: The next 4 weeks, leading up to the Disney Expedition Everest Challenge, I need to go back to basics and really just focus on running and building up endurance. Stop looking long term at the half marathon and just work on getting through the 5K's without issue or injury. Then, after Disney, start thinking 13.1 again.  I can't do 13 if I can't get through 3. Now, 24+ hours later, I don't feel as negative towards the whole experience as I did yesterday, if anything, I'm more determined.

Ready to get running again...