ScoJo15
There will be days when I don't know if I can run
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2005
Here it is!! Race Report!! 1st one is officially complete!! Sorry it's so long and I hope everyone isn't bored with the details, I wanted to capture as much as I could remember...so....here it is:
Hoya and the Hare 5k - Saturday, April 15th
I woke up around 6:15am and started my morning routine. I wanted to get out of the house around 6:45am so that I could be at the high school around 7:15am so that I could pick up my packet and get ready for the 8:30am scheduled start time. My shower was spent convincing myself that it was nothing more than a normal Saturday run and that it didn't matter how I performed. I told myself that the accomplishment is running the race, not if I finished first or dead last. But being the extremely competitive person that I am, by the time I was brushing my teeth I had a game plan of starting the race and then picking out some people to beat along the way. I also wanted to finish under 35 minutes since that was my fastest "hilly" time to date.
I put on my old pair of shoes and threw my new pair in the car just in case. I also packed a separate shorts/shirts outfit. Have you ever done something in the rush of the moment and then looked back on it and realized how silly it was? That's how I feel about putting that change of clothes in the car. What in the world would happen that would require me to change outfits prior to the start of the race? Coffee spill? No...don't drink coffee so that is out of the question. Freak accident in which I rip my shorts on the door handle getting out of the car? Unlikely....all I know is that I can't say why I did it but I did and if it gave me comfort in my time of stress, then may the great laundry god shine down upon me in all times of need.
So anyway I pulled out of the garage at 6:50am after a great sendoff by the family (ok..that was an embellishment...short of a natural disaster, no one, not even the dog, was moving out of their respective beds that morning) and made my way to Harrison High School. Only took me about 10 minutes to realize that I left my camera back at the house. I didn't have time to turn around and get it so I'd have to rely upon the photos that get posted on their website.
I made it to the high school around 7:25, found a place to park and made my way to the registration tables. They had one for same day registration and one for those who had pre-registered. I signed up thru active.com and was pleased to see that my name was indeed on the list. I grabbed four safety pins from the basket on the table and was given my race number (#159), the t-shirt and a bag full of magazines and local merchant coupons. I went back to the car, put the freebies in it and pinned on my number, being careful not to pin on the detachable bottom portion that was plainly marked "Do not pin here" in bold red print. I then made my way to the restrooms as every tip that I have ever read says to go even if you don't have to..so I went...literally.
From there, I walked down and up yet another hill on the course and checked out the football stadium where the finish line was located. It was cool to see that my last couple tenths of a mile would take place on the track, surrounded by throngs of madly cheering spectators (yep, sometimes wishful thinking adds so much to the story). I still had about 30 minutes to kill before race time so I hung out in front of the school near the parking lot/registration tables and began sizing up the competition. I was so pleased to see such a variety of people. One of the first conversations I heard was that of a mother telling her sister & daughter that their goal was to run at least one mile before walking the rest of the way. Whew. Worse case scenario, I'd be fourth from last if they held true to their plans.
There was a father there with his 8 year old son, a group of over 74 year old men all sporting t-shirts from their previous 10k and 5k events, a father and very young child that he planned on pushing in one of those strollers that you can run behind, young and old, black and white, thin and heavyset, all mixed together, all with their own stories of why they were there. It was a comforting feeling knowing that in some way I fit in, kind of belonging there with those people.
Soon it was time to head up (yep, up a hill) to the starting line. I'd say there was approximately 400 people making their way to the road entrance to the school. I took my place about 2/3 of the way thru the crowd, near the back of the pack and waited for the start. Right at 8:30am there was a cheer followed by bobbing heads in front of me as the pack started its way down the course. It took a few seconds to get to the real starting line where I remembered to start the timer on my Polar HR monitor so I'd know my actual time.
The first part of the course goes down a main two lane road. It's flat for the first 500 yards or so before descending downhill and then back up, then turning onto a different two lane road where it was uphill for a while before turning around and retracing our steps back to the high school, running past the start and then veering off thru a downhill/uphill and entering the stadium for a 3/4 or so lap around the track to the finish.
It was about the point where you started to go downhill for the first time that I found myself moving up thru the pack. I had to veer way out to the left hand side where I passed a bunch of people and then seemed to find the group that was running my pace. Among the people who were beside me were who I referred to as "blue shirt Ipod lady", "headband man", "whiteshirt woman" and "orange shorts girl". I made a mental note of these people and wanted to stay ahead of them if I could. I felt really good but did not want to start off too fast and have nothing left in the tank for the finish. A lot of people started walking when we hit the first hill. It felt great to run past them and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for training enough over the past couple months to not slow down yet. I was able to run all the way up that hill and made the turn onto the the second road. I figured we were in about a mile because I was beginning to get a little winded and I was nearing the 10 minute mark. My suspicion was accurate as I soon came up to a 1-mile marker with a person shouting out times. I did the first mile in 10:30 official time, and noticed that it was 10:15 on my watch. I was very pleased with that time considering that it wasn't flat. I took my first walk break at the 11:30 mark and walked for 1 minute, just enough to catch my breath a little. I was passed by orange shorts and Ipod lady so I started running again and came to the turn around where I was greeted by the marching band drumline, some volunteers offering water and a crowd of cheering spectators. It was a nice little motivational boost to see all of this along with knowing that half of the race was over already. I declined the water since I don't normally drink during my 3-4 mile runs and started making my way back to the school (plus I had to catch up to orangie and ipod). I took another 1 minute walk break at some point on that road before coming to the turn back on to the main road. Police had the road blocked off for the race and they were clapping and shouting encouragement to all of us as we ran by.
I kept running thru the downhill portion of that main road and made it to the 2 mile mark at 22:00 even. I had completed my second mile in 11:30, again to my satisfaction especially with having walked two times. I took a 30 second walk break and then started running up the last major hill of the race, passing Ipod lady along the way. I made it to the top and walked again for 20-30 seconds to catch my breath before picking up the pace again as I neared the school entrance.
I ran past the entrance and made my way to the stadium. There were a few volunteers clapping and shouting encouragement along with some people who had already finished. I can't tell you how nice it is to hear "good job", "great time" and "you're almost there, looking good!" while you are out there running. It is really motivating and helped me gain a second wind that would carry me through the finish. I made it easily up the small hill that lead to where we entered the stadium and proceeded around the track. The high school band was playing in the stands and there were lots of previous finishers standing along the field clapping and motiviating us through that last 2 tenths. I picked up some speed along that last turn and although I was about three strides shy of orange shorts girl, I made it across the finish line with an official time of 33:20. I did it!! I had no time to celebrate as we were told to "keep moving...tear off the bottom portion of your race number and hand it off then proceed to the tables and fill out your race card" So I tore off the bottom of the number and handed it to some lady collecting them and then found some tables at the end of the finish line chute where you had to fill out your name, location and time then drop it in the appropriate age group basket.
I made my way to the stands where sponsors were handing out energy bars, water, fruit and other stuff. I grabbed a banana and a water and picked up a few energy bars to sample in the future. I found an empty bench near the field, sat down and ate my post race snack while watching a bunch more people come across the finish line. It was at that point where I smiled, knowing that I had achieved the first milestone on the long journey to a marathon. I didn't finish last and I didn't make a fool of myself. I did a good job and was really happy with 33:20 (33:05 on my watch, but what's 15 seconds anyway). I think it was a great mark to set for my first time out. Most of all, I had a blast doing it. I had so much fun out there.
I polished off my water and made my way back towards the parking lot. I stopped for a few minutes and cheered on some people who were making their way up that last hill. I know that my shouts helped them along their way as others did for me. Among that group was the father and 8 year old son...both with huge smiles on their faces as the little one set the pace for his dad. It wasn't about splits or heart rates for them, it was about so much more. They were followed by a lady who was really struggling but determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I watched as she disappeared into the stadium, never slowing down and thought about how great it was that so many people were here for so many different reasons. 5k's aren't just for the elite cross country/marathon/track runners, they are for everyone.
Eventually, I made it back home and was greeted with hugs and congratulations from my family and neighbors. I was still excited about what I did and proceeded to tell them about every second of it. It was awesome to hear everyones support and really made me feel good.
So, here I am on the Monday following the race. Words really cannot describe how much fun it was to be out there with so many other people. Unlike when you run alone and keep looking at the watch wondering when the next walk break will be, during the race you want to keep running so that you can maintain pace with "headband man" or "Ipod lady". 3.1 miles seems so easy now and I guess that's good since I've got to do 6.2 miles (10k) on July 4th. I've penciled in a hilly 5k on May 6th and maybe another 5k on May 20th. I'm also planning on running with my dog during the "Atlanta Dog Jog" 1 or 2 mile runs on April 29th. I even noticed that there is a Labor Day 10k in September that also includes a 1 mile kids run for ages 7-11 (the parents can run along with them!), so I've added that to the list in hopes that she'll start running too. The Jr. Peachtree is still on the radar for her, but we haven't committed to it yet....issue being that she has to run alone and it is on the day that my wife will be flying out of the country for two weeks, so the Labor Day run may be better for her.
So I'm addicted to road races now. Funny how three months ago I wouldn't be caught dead running anywhere and now here I am jonesing for the next race! I am also going to modify my training schedule to better reflect a run/walk ratio instead of a walk/run.
Thanks so much for everyone's support and thanks for reading this massive review, I promise the next one won't be as long!!
Hoya and the Hare 5k - Saturday, April 15th
I woke up around 6:15am and started my morning routine. I wanted to get out of the house around 6:45am so that I could be at the high school around 7:15am so that I could pick up my packet and get ready for the 8:30am scheduled start time. My shower was spent convincing myself that it was nothing more than a normal Saturday run and that it didn't matter how I performed. I told myself that the accomplishment is running the race, not if I finished first or dead last. But being the extremely competitive person that I am, by the time I was brushing my teeth I had a game plan of starting the race and then picking out some people to beat along the way. I also wanted to finish under 35 minutes since that was my fastest "hilly" time to date.
I put on my old pair of shoes and threw my new pair in the car just in case. I also packed a separate shorts/shirts outfit. Have you ever done something in the rush of the moment and then looked back on it and realized how silly it was? That's how I feel about putting that change of clothes in the car. What in the world would happen that would require me to change outfits prior to the start of the race? Coffee spill? No...don't drink coffee so that is out of the question. Freak accident in which I rip my shorts on the door handle getting out of the car? Unlikely....all I know is that I can't say why I did it but I did and if it gave me comfort in my time of stress, then may the great laundry god shine down upon me in all times of need.
So anyway I pulled out of the garage at 6:50am after a great sendoff by the family (ok..that was an embellishment...short of a natural disaster, no one, not even the dog, was moving out of their respective beds that morning) and made my way to Harrison High School. Only took me about 10 minutes to realize that I left my camera back at the house. I didn't have time to turn around and get it so I'd have to rely upon the photos that get posted on their website.
I made it to the high school around 7:25, found a place to park and made my way to the registration tables. They had one for same day registration and one for those who had pre-registered. I signed up thru active.com and was pleased to see that my name was indeed on the list. I grabbed four safety pins from the basket on the table and was given my race number (#159), the t-shirt and a bag full of magazines and local merchant coupons. I went back to the car, put the freebies in it and pinned on my number, being careful not to pin on the detachable bottom portion that was plainly marked "Do not pin here" in bold red print. I then made my way to the restrooms as every tip that I have ever read says to go even if you don't have to..so I went...literally.
From there, I walked down and up yet another hill on the course and checked out the football stadium where the finish line was located. It was cool to see that my last couple tenths of a mile would take place on the track, surrounded by throngs of madly cheering spectators (yep, sometimes wishful thinking adds so much to the story). I still had about 30 minutes to kill before race time so I hung out in front of the school near the parking lot/registration tables and began sizing up the competition. I was so pleased to see such a variety of people. One of the first conversations I heard was that of a mother telling her sister & daughter that their goal was to run at least one mile before walking the rest of the way. Whew. Worse case scenario, I'd be fourth from last if they held true to their plans.
There was a father there with his 8 year old son, a group of over 74 year old men all sporting t-shirts from their previous 10k and 5k events, a father and very young child that he planned on pushing in one of those strollers that you can run behind, young and old, black and white, thin and heavyset, all mixed together, all with their own stories of why they were there. It was a comforting feeling knowing that in some way I fit in, kind of belonging there with those people.
Soon it was time to head up (yep, up a hill) to the starting line. I'd say there was approximately 400 people making their way to the road entrance to the school. I took my place about 2/3 of the way thru the crowd, near the back of the pack and waited for the start. Right at 8:30am there was a cheer followed by bobbing heads in front of me as the pack started its way down the course. It took a few seconds to get to the real starting line where I remembered to start the timer on my Polar HR monitor so I'd know my actual time.
The first part of the course goes down a main two lane road. It's flat for the first 500 yards or so before descending downhill and then back up, then turning onto a different two lane road where it was uphill for a while before turning around and retracing our steps back to the high school, running past the start and then veering off thru a downhill/uphill and entering the stadium for a 3/4 or so lap around the track to the finish.
It was about the point where you started to go downhill for the first time that I found myself moving up thru the pack. I had to veer way out to the left hand side where I passed a bunch of people and then seemed to find the group that was running my pace. Among the people who were beside me were who I referred to as "blue shirt Ipod lady", "headband man", "whiteshirt woman" and "orange shorts girl". I made a mental note of these people and wanted to stay ahead of them if I could. I felt really good but did not want to start off too fast and have nothing left in the tank for the finish. A lot of people started walking when we hit the first hill. It felt great to run past them and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for training enough over the past couple months to not slow down yet. I was able to run all the way up that hill and made the turn onto the the second road. I figured we were in about a mile because I was beginning to get a little winded and I was nearing the 10 minute mark. My suspicion was accurate as I soon came up to a 1-mile marker with a person shouting out times. I did the first mile in 10:30 official time, and noticed that it was 10:15 on my watch. I was very pleased with that time considering that it wasn't flat. I took my first walk break at the 11:30 mark and walked for 1 minute, just enough to catch my breath a little. I was passed by orange shorts and Ipod lady so I started running again and came to the turn around where I was greeted by the marching band drumline, some volunteers offering water and a crowd of cheering spectators. It was a nice little motivational boost to see all of this along with knowing that half of the race was over already. I declined the water since I don't normally drink during my 3-4 mile runs and started making my way back to the school (plus I had to catch up to orangie and ipod). I took another 1 minute walk break at some point on that road before coming to the turn back on to the main road. Police had the road blocked off for the race and they were clapping and shouting encouragement to all of us as we ran by.
I kept running thru the downhill portion of that main road and made it to the 2 mile mark at 22:00 even. I had completed my second mile in 11:30, again to my satisfaction especially with having walked two times. I took a 30 second walk break and then started running up the last major hill of the race, passing Ipod lady along the way. I made it to the top and walked again for 20-30 seconds to catch my breath before picking up the pace again as I neared the school entrance.
I ran past the entrance and made my way to the stadium. There were a few volunteers clapping and shouting encouragement along with some people who had already finished. I can't tell you how nice it is to hear "good job", "great time" and "you're almost there, looking good!" while you are out there running. It is really motivating and helped me gain a second wind that would carry me through the finish. I made it easily up the small hill that lead to where we entered the stadium and proceeded around the track. The high school band was playing in the stands and there were lots of previous finishers standing along the field clapping and motiviating us through that last 2 tenths. I picked up some speed along that last turn and although I was about three strides shy of orange shorts girl, I made it across the finish line with an official time of 33:20. I did it!! I had no time to celebrate as we were told to "keep moving...tear off the bottom portion of your race number and hand it off then proceed to the tables and fill out your race card" So I tore off the bottom of the number and handed it to some lady collecting them and then found some tables at the end of the finish line chute where you had to fill out your name, location and time then drop it in the appropriate age group basket.
I made my way to the stands where sponsors were handing out energy bars, water, fruit and other stuff. I grabbed a banana and a water and picked up a few energy bars to sample in the future. I found an empty bench near the field, sat down and ate my post race snack while watching a bunch more people come across the finish line. It was at that point where I smiled, knowing that I had achieved the first milestone on the long journey to a marathon. I didn't finish last and I didn't make a fool of myself. I did a good job and was really happy with 33:20 (33:05 on my watch, but what's 15 seconds anyway). I think it was a great mark to set for my first time out. Most of all, I had a blast doing it. I had so much fun out there.
I polished off my water and made my way back towards the parking lot. I stopped for a few minutes and cheered on some people who were making their way up that last hill. I know that my shouts helped them along their way as others did for me. Among that group was the father and 8 year old son...both with huge smiles on their faces as the little one set the pace for his dad. It wasn't about splits or heart rates for them, it was about so much more. They were followed by a lady who was really struggling but determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I watched as she disappeared into the stadium, never slowing down and thought about how great it was that so many people were here for so many different reasons. 5k's aren't just for the elite cross country/marathon/track runners, they are for everyone.
Eventually, I made it back home and was greeted with hugs and congratulations from my family and neighbors. I was still excited about what I did and proceeded to tell them about every second of it. It was awesome to hear everyones support and really made me feel good.
So, here I am on the Monday following the race. Words really cannot describe how much fun it was to be out there with so many other people. Unlike when you run alone and keep looking at the watch wondering when the next walk break will be, during the race you want to keep running so that you can maintain pace with "headband man" or "Ipod lady". 3.1 miles seems so easy now and I guess that's good since I've got to do 6.2 miles (10k) on July 4th. I've penciled in a hilly 5k on May 6th and maybe another 5k on May 20th. I'm also planning on running with my dog during the "Atlanta Dog Jog" 1 or 2 mile runs on April 29th. I even noticed that there is a Labor Day 10k in September that also includes a 1 mile kids run for ages 7-11 (the parents can run along with them!), so I've added that to the list in hopes that she'll start running too. The Jr. Peachtree is still on the radar for her, but we haven't committed to it yet....issue being that she has to run alone and it is on the day that my wife will be flying out of the country for two weeks, so the Labor Day run may be better for her.
So I'm addicted to road races now. Funny how three months ago I wouldn't be caught dead running anywhere and now here I am jonesing for the next race! I am also going to modify my training schedule to better reflect a run/walk ratio instead of a walk/run.
Thanks so much for everyone's support and thanks for reading this massive review, I promise the next one won't be as long!!
I was thinking about you this weekend as I was running on the treadmill at the hotel! I knew you would do great! My first race is next weekend and I'm nervous...especially since my schedule was wacky being away! But now because of your wonderful journal entry I feel more relaxed and really felt like I was there with you! THANKS for sharing your experience!! 
.
Congratulations on your first 5k!! I am so Proud of you! I really enjoyed your report! I can be long winded about what I had for dinner, so I in no way thought it was too long. 
. I would definitely bring them back where you got them and explain the situation.
. Good luck finding a pair that work for you! I've been told I need to go to a specialty running store that can evaluate my feet and running stride. I'm planning to try that someday...but my regular sneakers are actually great and don't need to be replaced yet. Once they do I'll give it a go with the experts 
. I tried that....I'd actually "wave" as the hill began and said "hey there big hill". But that didn't work AT ALL for me. I find that ignoring the dumb thing is much better than acknowledging it. 
.
