I just completed my first 5K race, the Cottleville Fall Run! I left the house with a simple goal: finish the race. From the practicing that I have been doing, I figured that it would take me around 40 minutes, not stellar but I would not be hauling my sorry *ss over the finish line as everyone else packed up to go home. My best run ever had been on Thursday morning when I took a relatively easy, level route instead of the extra-hilly ones that I had been using in order to build up a bit of extra endurance. On Thursday, I had gone 3.53 miles at a pace of 11:58/mile. It was the first time I had ever broken 12:00 and I had spent the day walking on clouds.
Since this was my first race, I did not know what to expect so I pinned my number to my shirt and drove to the Legacy Park a bit earlier than I usually like to arrive for events. That gave me about 30 minutes to pace around and realize that I don’t wait well at all. It also gave me time to check out the playground, where I will certainly take Caedmon, and to watch a kid on a scooter drive right in front of a car without looking. No blood was spilled, however, and I saw him later (on his scooter) accompanying his parents as they walked the course.
There were 183 runners so it didn’t take me long to cross the starting line after the siren sounded and then I was off on what was billed as “the flattest course in Missouri.” We left Cottleville’s Legacy Park on the paved trail, headed due east to Mid Rivers Mall Drive, then south to Wendy’s (perhaps for a half-way-through-the-race bowl of chilli?), and back the way we came. I was greatly bemused (and humbled) to have the lead runner pass me on his return trip before I even got to Mid Rivers Mall Drive.
I had a little trouble pacing myself at the beginning. If there was someone in front of me (and there was always someone in front of me), my legs wanted to chase them and pass them. I did have enough brains to hold myself back; there was no way that I would have finished the 5K if I had started sprinting from the get go. Even so, I felt tired and breathless throughout the whole race and chalked that up to this being “just one of those days.” Otther than being a bit short of breath, the race was completely uneventful to within about 200 yards of the finish when I caught wind of the music from the loudspeakers. That, and catchng sight of Candy just before the finish, were sorely needed pick-me-ups.
My only confusion came when I got close enough to the finish line that I could read the clock. The number was way too small and I was too tired to figure it out. I thought there was some quirk of the timing display that I did not understand. I took another breath, gave it my all across the line, and got my belly scanned. When I checked the results later, I was amazed to find that I had run a 34:17 giving me a pace of 11:04/mile!
Yee hah! Where’s the next race?
