race day...sunburst

yesterday was the big day...race day!  i hardly slept at all and had a headache all night long.  it was cold and i wasn't in the mood to be up at 5:00 on a saturday morning. not to mention, it was my time of the month and i had to go number two but couldn't (tmi...sorry).  i couldn't find my running watch or the ipod arm band (what no music, i always run to music).  i thought the odds were against me for a good race.  john wasn't overly excited either but he was as ready as he was going to be.

once we got there (way too early) i started to get excited. we signed in and got our numbers.  we walked around a bit and then decided to sit in the car since it was so cold.  i had bought a new race outfit and couldn't decide if i wanted to wear it or a warmer jacket.  most everyone was wearing long sleeves and mine was short.  i hadn't thought about wearing something under it.  talk about dilemmas. :) i finally decided to just go a head and wear the short sleeves. i hoped once i started running i wouldn't be too cold. i was glad i made this choice.  it was perfect once i started.

it was finally time to take our places.  we went to the 10 minute/mile section since this is what i was hoping to run.  my goal was to finish in 30:59 or less.  i have done this on the treadmill but wasn't too confident i could keep that pace on my own.  we finally heard the gun and just stood there! :)  there were a lot of people.  after what seemed like forever we finally crossed the start line. during the first mile i knew i was running a good pace but since i didn't have my watch i couldn't be sure. right at the mile mark, i overheard two runners say they were right on track of a ten minute pace so i stayed with them all of mile two.  i lost john somewhere during mile two.  my pacers were pulling away from me at the end of mile two.  i was still feeling pretty good but also didn't want to overdo it and not finish strong.  mile two was definitely the hardest.  there was a steep hill and the entire mile seemed to go on and on.  once i got to eddy street commons i picked up my pace because i knew i was getting closer to the finish line.  when i saw the stadium i picked it up even more.  mile three seemed to go pretty quickly.  running onto the stadium through the tunnel was a great feeling.  i took off and felt so good.  when i got close enough to see the time, i was disappointed because it said 32:12.  i knew that this wouldn't be my official time but i also realized i probably didn't finish in the 30:XX.  i was still happy and glad i chose to run in the race. i waited around for john but didn't get to see him cross the finish line.  he finished in 34:something (he couldn't remember) according to the clock.  i was so glad when i found him because there were so many people and we didn't have a meeting place.  we went to the stands and tried to watch for jennifer and her mom but never saw them either so we decided to head back and try to call them for breakfast.  they did great too...finishing at 38 something unofficially. 

even though i thought the odds were against me, i think i did pretty good.  my official time was 31:18. this is my PR for a 5k (i've never run a 5k before so anytime would be my PR :) ). i so wish i would of had my watch because i could have easily shaved off 19 plus seconds if i would have known i was so close to achieving my goal.  overall, we had a fun day! and running a 5k was much, much, much better than running a half! i think i'll stick to 5ks!

pre-race photo.  do we look ready?