I left you hanging over the weekend, didn’t I? You KNEW I was going to run in my first 5k on Saturday and then I was just too pooped to update my blog. Ah, well. Here ya go:

The 5k Experience In A Rather Long Nutshell

I woke up butt-early (which is pretty early) because I was so excited and I misunderstood the time Jodi was going to pick me up. Plus, I didn’t read her text until the next day. It is good that I woke up early! I bought new socks the night before in the hopes that my newly formed blister would not be aggravated, so I was busy debating about socks and wondering if I should put makeup on for my first 5k. Details.

So, we met some of Jodi’s friends up in Keizer and hopped into their vehicle for the drive to Vancouver (Wa). They are the nicest people, and REAL runners. Angie runs marathons. Ugh. Her husband Jeff pretends he doesn’t run, but he totally kicked most people’s butts. Very funny couple! It was a fun drive!

We arrived at a park in Vancouver about 45 minutes before the race. It started to rain, which is really no big deal, but after we grabbed our race bags we waited back in the car until the rain stopped. I checked out the t-shirt (because, after all, it is all about the t-shirt). The shirt is dri-fit (wahoo!) and bright orange. It’s pretty cool, and people WILL see me when I wear it! Mitch was totally jealous when he saw my shirt. I can’t say it is “cute”, but it is pretty cool.

Before the race, I was kinda nervous. Mostly because I didn’t feel a rush of energy that I typically get before a really good run. Instead, I was feeling the blahs that I usually feel before a gut wrenching run. Yikes! However, we did a little warm-up run, which was a good thing.

At 8:50, we lined up according to our typical mile speed. So, yeah, I was in the third pack! LOL!

This is me and Jodi before the race.

And we were off!!

The race was an up-and-back, so we ran to a certain point, turned around, and ran back to the start. A new experience for me. I was about 3/4 of the way to the turn around point when the race leaders passed me. Ha!! I waved to Angie, who won 1st place in our age group and 6th place overall. I waved to Jeff, who came in 10th place overall. Then, I waved to Jodi, but she wasn’t THAT far in front of me! Jodi came in 4th place in our age group.

I reached the turn around and felt pretty good because there were a bunch of encouraging, smiling people handing out water (which I couldn’t figure out how to drink). Let me tell you: Encouraging words from spectators is HUGE!! It was for me, anyway. It gave me an extra burst of energy that I needed.

By this point, about 1/2 way through the race, I think I finally found my rhythm.

And then these little kids started passing me. Yeah. Little, tiny kids whose race t-shirts were practically dragging on the ground.

And there was this couple, who were both clearly NOT runners like me, that I passed and then they passed me! Good grief. I was dying by now.

And then, I came up to the 4k marker. I figured that I should really let ‘er rip for the last 1k. I took off and passed the couple. And then I gasped and sputtered and slowed down and then actually walked!! Oh, I’m ashamed to admit that I walked for about 10-15 seconds. At this point, with little kids passing me and people who were clearly not runners running alongside me, I figured that my time must be terrible. However, I started running again. I just wanted to finish the race.

As I approached the finish line, I could see Jodi and Angie and Jeff along the side cheering me on. I thought, “Oh, good grief. Don’t give me false platitudes. ‘Good job, Kelleigh! Keep going!’ isn’t going to help at this point.”

But, you know what they said? “You are 20 seconds from being under 32 minutes!! Go!!!”

I said, “What?”

And then I took off! I ran as fast as my body would allow me for the last few seconds and passed the non-runner couple and the little kid, and came in with a time of . . .

31:58

Remember, my goal was to come in under 35 minutes, with a time closer to 32 minutes. I honestly never even considered coming in under 32. And, this was definitely not my best run!! I mean, I didn’t feel that great while running. However, I did PR (Personal Record)!!

I came in 7th in my age group!!

I was so surprised to see how well I did, and incredibly relieved that I wouldn’t have to report an embarrassing time to you guys!! Wow! What a motivator to know that you all knew I was running. Honestly, it freaked me out!! LOL!

So, what’s next? I’m going running this morning. I’m NOT feeling motivated. I need to put a goal out in front of me, so I’m going to look up some 10k training schedules when I get back. I do plan to run in a 5k in May, so that will be good!

And, that’s it! My 5k experience!!

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