My 5k!

I survived! I do not know how, but I did! On Saturday I woke up before my alarm went off. It was 5:15 am. Ugh! I am not a morning person, but I couldn't sleep anymore because I needed to get up early to go to my race. I was planning to get up around 5:40 but I got out of bed early and started getting ready. I drove to Cheri's house and picked her up around 6. It was still dark out. We talked in the car about how nervous and yet excited we were. We headed out and drove about 40 minutes to our destination.

When we arrived at the park where the race was taking place, we quickly realized it was very cold outside. The trees surrounding us at the park, and the fact that we were near the hills and mountains, made it much cooler than it was at home. We shivered as we checked in and got our t-shirts and numbers. Since the race didn't start until 7:30 and registering had taken very little of our time, we decided to head back to the car to stay warm. I sent a text to Kourtni to see if she had arrived yet. She and her brother Luke were almost there.

Eventually Cheri and I left the warmth of the car and headed out to meet up with Kourtni and Luke. We all joked about coming in last. At first it seemed like there were not many people there to do the 5k race. We didn't realize that a bunch of people had gathered in a different spot. The first race was for the 10k and 10 mile people. They were to start 5 minutes before the 5k people and they also had a different trail. Pretty soon it was time for the 5k runners to line up. I was so nervous! There were a lot of preteens doing the race.

Then we were off! Luke very quickly ran ahead of us, like we expected. His goal was to complete the 5k in 30 minutes. Cheri and I kept saying our goal was 50 minutes because we were afraid of looking stupid (at least I was!) if we said we could finish any sooner than that and fail. Kourtni then quickly got ahead of us. After running for just a short time, Cheri passed me and I was back behind with the old people. ;) OK, so maybe they were not old. I tried to keep up but I could not. This race was not exactly what I expected. It was called a trail race and it most definitely was a trail! There were points where the runners would bottleneck together because there was no room for more than one or two people to get through an area. Even if you wanted to go faster and pass people, you couldn't! We got out in a grassy and slightly hilly area, then headed over a lot of sand. I was not expecting sand! It made you lose traction and was more difficult to run on. It was really pretty to run by the river though and hear it babbling as it flowed by. It felt like forever before I made it to the halfway/turn-around point. There was a group of volunteers passing out tiny cups of water, which I gratefully took. I tried to down it as fast as I could and only spilled a little of it down the front of my shirt! LOL! I did what everyone else before me did and threw my cup out on the grass. I knew the volunteers would be cleaning it up later.

At this point I could barely see Cheri way up ahead of me. I was exhausted but I had to keep going. I kept looking at my watch and wondering how much further I had and how long I had been running. I was sure it was going to take me a full 50 minutes to finish. Instead of going back the way we started, we continued to run down past the river. I looked over the edge and wanted to jump into the brown, murky water, just to cool off. I was afraid I might accidentally fall in! There were sometimes rather large holes in the ground and you really had to watch your step. Branches and vines would reach down and scrape past my head. Eventually I could see no one ahead of me and no one behind me! I had no idea how many people were behind me but I knew I wasn't dead last. That gave me some comfort.

I was so afraid I was five or ten minutes behind my friends. GRRR! I thought. See if I ever tell them again when I am doing a 5k! I was embarrassed that I wasn't able to keep up with them.
This was my idea and no one would be doing this race if it wasn't for me! LOL!

I finally could hear people applauding and cheering and an announcer reading the numbers and names of people who crossed the finish line. I saw a lone woman standing on a little hill above me and recognized her straw hat. It was my mother-in-law, Shanna! I yelled to her so she would see me. She took a picture as I jogged by, waving to her. Then I heard the announcer say "Kourtni (last name)". OK, I'm close and that means I am not that far behind!
All during my race I was thinking about how people run marathons and would have 23 more miles to go than I was running! That is insane!

I finally got close the the small crowd of people. I was so tired and wanted to just walk. I slowed down for a few seconds to catch my breath and then tried to jog again towards the finish line. The people just in front of me were from the 10k race and were the first ones from that race to cross the finish line. Wow! I can't even imagine running that fast! I heard my name and crossed the line. I made it! I received my finisher's medal, which everyone gets, LOL, and placed it around my neck. I had no idea what my time was. I tried to ask my friends but none of us were sure. There was a big clock we all ran past but we didn't look to see what our times were! Some of us guessed it was around 45 minutes or so. Cheri and Kourtni reassured me that I only came in a minute or two after them. Cheri ended up passing Kourtni at the end and came in first out of the three of us girls.

Raymond and the boys were waiting for me at the finish line. They had come down to see me complete the race. I gave the kids a big hug. I was so hot and tired. I wished I had just worn my t-shirt instead of wearing my hoodie over it. I know I would have been cold before we started the race but I very quickly would have warmed up!

Yuck, this picture is so gross of me with my extremely red face!

I asked the kids if they saw me race. Jonah's reply, "Yeah, we did, and you were last!"

Thanks, hon. *sigh* OK, so I came in last out of our small group but I wasn't dead last out of the other racers!

We took a big group picture. I wish Luke's family was there and then they would have completed our group!

There was a pancake and sausage breakfast to enjoy after the race. I later realized that I completely forgot to stretch in my haste to talk to everyone after crossing the finish line. I felt pretty sore later.

After we ate, Cheri and I put on our t-shirts that we got out of my car so we could take group shots together with them on.

Me, Cheri, Kourtni, Luke

I am wearing three shirts over one another and I think it shows, haha! At least that is what I am reminding myself to make me feel better. ;)

Luke then found the results posted somewhere and told us our times. Out of 131 racers, Luke came in 52nd place, with a time of 30:16. Cheri was next, in 89th place, at 36:46, then Kourtni in 94th place at 37:18, and finally me in 98th place with a time of 38:12. I really wasn't that far behind, only about a minute and a half behind Cheri and a minute behind Kourtni. I think it is respectable to be 8 minutes behind a guy who is in very good shape. Right?

I was happy with my time since it was much better than the 50 minute goal I set, but I was still a little disappointed that it wasn't as good as my friends'. Picky, aren't I? Thank goodness I did not take 50 minutes to complete it because then I would have been dead last! The very last racer came in at 47:10!

When I got home, I was wiped out! I took a nap and could barely move all afternoon! That evening, Cheri, Kourtni, and their families went out to celebrate with my family and me. We had dinner at a pizza place and we were already talking about our next race. We plan to do it again sometime! I wonder if we could get our husbands involved. :) Who wants to join us?

Kourtni, Cheri, and I had a lot of fun laughing and talking at dinner. Cheri and I told Kourtni that we were so afraid she was going to cream us in the race, since she had said she ran on her own to practice and did it in 35 minutes while we thought it would take us 50 minutes. We told her that Cheri's husband had said we should pull a Tonya Harding move and shove Kourtni off the path and out of the race, bwahahaha! We cracked up. Good times!

Now for my next race I hope to improve my time to 35 minutes or less. We'll see if I can do it. The next race we're thinking about doing is only a month away!

Wow, I did it, I met a goal/dream of mine and I think I'd like to do it again, maybe even regularly!

All pictures were stolen off of my MIL's Facebook page!