My First 5K

Last Sunday, I ran my very first 5K at Grand Old Day in St. Paul, MN. I had a fabulous time and have a new sense of appreciation for all of those people who regularly run races. Running a 5K is TOUGH! At least for me it was.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of a team. My friend Maria asked me to join her team which included her boyfriend Mike aka "Captain Blackstrap", his friend Scott(pictured above), his other friend Chad(not in the picture) and our mutual friend Sam who is on the far left. Our collective team name was "Blackstrap Molasses." Hence, the black clothing that in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea as running the last mile and a half with the sun blazing on your black clothing only adds to the discomfort that you are definitely feeling at that point in time. But, it all came together and honestly, we wouldn't have lived up to the name wearing any other color but Black.

I was jittery. I was literally shaking in my boots because this was my first race and I had no idea what to expect. I almost felt like throwing up at one point in time...yes, this is pretty melodramatic, but it is exactly where I had worked myself up to. My hands were shaking and my mind was spinning so much so that I couldn't even get my timing chip on my shoe properly. I had to ask Maria to do it for me(more on chips later). I also got a Grand Old Day on the Go T-shirt. If anyone has ever been to the Midwests' largest one day festival, you know that you pretty much have to park blocks and blocks away from Grand because of the amount of people who show up to participate in the fun. Well, we parked far away. So, I get handed this T-Shirt and I said, "Can you just hold this until after the race." The girl smiled and said, "Sorry, no. We pretty much tear the booth down as soon as you all start running. You could find a place to stash it or go put it in your car." ::blank stare:: Thinking to myself: Okay, so you are telling me that I have to figure out what to do with my t-shirt, that I PAID for, 10 minutes before the race is going to start because I obviously will not make it back to my car before the start of the race and I feel like I am going to puke and O.M.G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::deep breath:: I consult with my fellow racers who tell me to either stick it in the back of my shorts(um, no thank you) or stash it. I decide to go behind the building where we were waiting and stash it. The building was for some type of landscaping/garden center store and they had palette's of fertilizer and soil. I decided that stashing my shirt there would be a great idea as long as the palettes were not going to be moved(I prayed about this one). As I bent down to shove my shirt into a palette, there were at least 4 other shirts hidden there...LOL...So, I put my paperwork on top of MY shirt and hoped that people would be honest and not swipe my shirt in lieu of their poor size purchase(if they made that mistake in the first place, but that is exactly what I was thinking).

The kid race was literally right before our race. It was amazing to see these tiny tikes running their little booty's off. Some of those kids were in it to win it...while others were there for fun. You could definitely tell these a part. The crowd cheered them on and it was just wonderful to see how many parents are getting their kids involved in running at such early ages. What a great way to role model for your kids and set them up for healthy futures. Maria and I talked about possibly having my kids try it out next year. It was a privilege to watch.

Now, it was our turn to line up for the race. My adrenaline started flowing profusely. I was psyched. The said, "Runners Ready?" I grabbed Maria's hand because I needed to be sure she was listening as she was talking to some runners she knew who were behind us. I was so ready to run! The horn sounded and we were off. Immediately I shot across the starting line and I was running in a crowd of people. I saw Mike, Chad and Scott bolt way up ahead of me and I had totally expected that. I soon lost track of them and I had no idea where Maria and Sam were. It was literally a sea of people all around me and I was so aware of myself, my breathing, and where I was running that I had no more brain power for where anyone else was anymore. They could have been in front of me, next to me, or behind me and I would not have been any wiser.

I realized about 1/2 mile in that I was obviously running at a faster pace than normal because I had to work extremely hard to get my breathing under control. I was paying attention to all of the booths on the side of the road when I spied someone I knew. April(Cousin of my brother in law) and her daughter Aly were on the side of the road and it gave me a little boost as I yelled out "Hey April!" to her and she saw me and yelled back to me. My husband and kids were not at the race and after seeing April it really made me realize how important it is to have "supporters" there for you. They keep you going and really help you do the best you can in a race. After seeing April I am sure I kicked up my pace a notch or two and now I had her and Aly to look forward to towards the end of the race where I would need their cheers for sure.

I soon came upon Captain Blackstrap and his trusty friend Chad, running perfectly in sync rocking their i-pods. They were surprised to see me and then they cheered me on as I pulled ahead of them. It should be mentioned that Captain Blackstrap has a bum ankle and almost did not participate in the race. It was fun to be able to find them in the crowd and have a little chit chat as well. It was again very motivating to know people as you are running.

By this point, I was fatigued. I kept thinking to myself, where is the turn around? I was straining my eyes to see the end which seemed to be no where in sight. OMG, what had I gotten myself into? The idea of slowing down or even ::gasp:: walking was horrific to me so I kept chugging along. When I saw the lead runner passing me I was so thankful...the turn around was about 2 blocks away. I then saw Scotty who yelled out to me, "You are doing awesome Amber!" So I yelled back "Thanks Rock On!" I grabbed some water at the turn around and walked. Slammed my water and threw the cup in the garbage and got back to running. I saw Sam and then I saw Maria. I yelled out to both of them to keep on going buddies! Again...another energy boost. Never underestimate the power of people you love and care about being around you while you are doing something challenging.

The way back was much much worse than the way up. Now, all of the good smells that I enjoyed on my way to the turn around were making me nauseous. I actually sprinted by the greek food stand as the smell of the normally delicious Gyro's were making me want to hurl. I started to think that this race was some sort of horrific torture race and why did I choose to subject myself to it. Perspective people! I kept telling myself one foot in front of the other. When I felt like slowing down, I allowed myself to unless it was by a particularly offensive food stand at which point I again would sprint by and hold my breath. I literally thought I was going to fall over or pass out or most likely both along with vomit. I just had to get to the end. As I hit the 1/4 mile left mark(assuming this in my mind)April and Aly were there and they were already yelling out for me, "Way to go Amber!" It was just what I needed. I got my last wind and finished the race strong. I had no idea what my time was as I felt ill and was gasping for breath as I put my foot forward for a volunteer to cut off my timing chip. Scotty was there and gave me a huge high five. He also handed me some water which I guzzled down while looking for a place to sit because I thought I was going to pass out.

I watched Maria come bolting across the finish line. She has this amazing ability to "kick it up" the last 1/4 mile and she sprints like a cheetah and I am not kidding you. She put her foot forward to get her timing chip cut off and IT WAS NO LONGER ON HER SHOE! She was pissed. I felt terrible for her but did not know what to do. How in the world did the freaking chip come off of her shoe. This would be like getting DQ'd on some stupid technicality in our TRI. What a bummer. The only good part was that she had seen her time when she crossed the finish line. Sam came running in right behind her and then we waited for the rest of our blackstrap crew.

After having two banana's, some granola and three cups of water I finally felt AMAZING. April and Aly had walked down to talk with me and congratulate me on finishing the race. It was pretty neat. I also got to finally see my time. I ran my very first 5K in 27:06!!! I was so proud of myself because I normally run at about 10 min/mile.

The 5K was definitely an experience. I am glad that I ran it and that I had good people to run it with me. I feel more confident than ever that running is HARD and that there is nothing easy about a 5K. A marathoner told one of our teammates that running 5K's are harder than marathon's because if you want a good time, you have to sprint virtually the entire 3 miles...AGREE! The most important thing that I walked away with(besides really sore quads)is that having people there to support you is priceless. It is literally all you need to do good, feel good and keep on chugging. Cheers to all of you runners out there who do races like this and a big thank you to my teammates and all of you supporters out there who cheered us all on!