I did it! It wasn’t pretty by any means, but I did it!
Was I in the bottom 3-5% overall, of all males, and in males 30-34, yes. But I still friggin did it!
All the articles I read said to have 3 goals going into a race: a “doable” one, a “push” goal, and a “pie in the sky” goal. (I maybe have made up those terms myself.) So here were my goals:
- Pie in the sky goal – run the whole thing
- Push goal – under 45 minutes
- Doable goal – survive uninjured and have fun
Here’s the play-by-play of my day. Thinking of the slews of articles I read about preparing for your first 5k, I did my best to lay out my clothes the night before, set up transportation (thanks Chris for the lift!), didn’t change any eating habits than from what I’ve been training and headed over to the race.
Meandered a bit and found my corral at the far back, and heard the starting gun. Then moved up as the elite runners took off. Repeated as each of the corral’s before me started, laughing at the fact that the elite runners finished running the 5k before I even started!
Nevertheless, the slow-poke corral made it to the starting line and I was off. This is what I’ve been training for! It’s actually happening!
I was so proud and felt so good. I had a good pace, right with my back dwellers. Then just as I was reaching that one mile mark, my calves started hurting. Not “burning” that I’m (sort of) used to, but hurting. Quickly, my “pie in the sky” goal was dashed.
So from there on out it was a battle between the tightness of my legs and my willpower to endure. I’d jog (less than I’d like to) walk, repeat. Internally cheer when I saw the water table. My pace was slowing that I new that my push goal was quickly fading, and it was incredibly frustrating.
I was definitely angry at myself at that point in time, especially since I had such a great run just a few days ago. But the people cheering were supportive. The little kid that ran out to give me some water because I probably looked horrible at the time was a nice gesture.
Once I passed that 3 mile marker I said, “screw it, I’m sprinting the last 0.1 miles to the end!” I even passed a handful of people to finally finish with a time of 48:22. There was nothing like that rush of all the volunteers cheering and crossing that finish line, it was awesome!
You can see video of me crossing the finish line at the Bucktown 5k Results page! My bib number was 113 (much like Pixar’s A113 Easter Egg, which made me feel extra cool).
While I look like I’m going somewhat a normal jogging speed, in my head at the time it felt like this video:
Of course, as one of my running vet friends (aka, a “jerkface fit person”) pointed out, if I had THAT much energy at the end, I probably could have pushed a little harder during the race.
Although, looking at my splits, perhaps I was in my head and went too fast, definitely quicker than what I trained at, which definitely explains the calves issue. So, going into the future, just better preparation and knowing my body/pace will hopefully help with that issue. Slower pace, which will lead to less (or no) walk breaks and an overall better time.
Overall, it’s a great accomplishment, and even with my slip-ups as of late, I was still able to accomplish it. A year ago I was just starting to work out at Orange Theory, heck I didn’t even start jogging during the workouts until mid March! While I still have a ways to go, I’m come a long way, and I can’t look back now.
Thank you all for your support and here’s to many more!
