Twilight 5K

Last night it was my first race of the season. Coach wanted me to race at least a 5 k before my first tri. So a couple of weeks ago I signed up for the Twilight 5 k here in Charlotte. It was an evening race, so I thought it would something fun to try, as most races are usually in the morning.

I went to work, just like any other regular day; but for some reason I was sort of "nervous" all day. Yes, I have done many 5k's and 10k's, but I usually just ran them; never raced them. Big difference, at least in my book.

The work day was pretty uneventful, we are currently working on some budgets for our next fiscal year; so besides having to learn a new software in a whim there was nothing out of the ordinary. The race was going to take place about 2 blocks from the building I work at, so I brought my clothes to change in the bathroom at work. When 5:30 rolled around I was ready to go. I dropped off all my stuff in the car and went to the race site to pick up my race packet and timing chip.

At this point I could really feel the butterflies in my stomach. It was weird to be getting THAT nervous for a 5k. I kept telling myself... You are just running, you've done this a million time. I guess on the back of my head the knowledge that i would be HURTING for the whole 3.1 miles, sort of scared me.

Coach wanted me to warm up for 15 minutes and show up at the start line 5 minutes before the gun. I did as she indicated.  The place was packed and it was considerably warm (I think it was about 80 degrees at 7 pm). I placed myself towards the middle of the pack. I did not want to get ran over nor I wanted to be stuck behind people who could slow me down. Finally the gun went off. The pack started moving and it took me about 20 seconds to cross the start line.

My instructions were to pace for the first 1/2 mile and then let it go. On Coach's words: "5K is all about going fast, speedy feet, hard. By the end this should HURT in your lungs & legs." 

I ran at what I thought was a conservative pace for the first 5  minutes, I figured that would be about 1/2 mile. That put me along the same speed as the fire department team. The race had a challenge between the police department and the fire department. They were carrying banners and running like they do in the military... The troop leader would sing a verse and then the rest of the squad would repeat it. I heard some funny yet provocative verses the firemen sang about the police and was tempted to stay so I could be entertained the whole race; but I knew this race had another purpose. As Coach would say I needed to get into my hurt box. So I picked up the pace. And who would have thought that I would start PASSING people... me? Passing people? This feels awesome... So I picked it up some more... When the first mile marker showed up, I looked at my watch and could not believe my eyes... it read 8:44. WTF?!!!! My mind went crazy.. I just ran a sub 9 mile! I wanted more. I kept running, and yes, it kept hurting, but it was a good hurt. I could feel myself getting warmer and warmer. I could feel the back of my throat getting dryer and dryer. I needed water. Mile 2 showed up there was the one and only water stop. I walked I think 5 steps, enough to get one sip of water and then off I went again. My legs were protesting... Walking was a BIG mistake. The water stop was also uphill, so that didn't help. My legs complained again, I didn't listen and kept pushing. Now, don't think i was a speed demon or something. Yes, I was passing people but there were people passing me as well.

The last mile was pretty much a killer, I think about 3/4 of it were uphill. I wanted to stop really. bad. Almost did. But one thing came to mind: What would Coach do? Coach would stay in her hurt box and would push even harder just because the thought about slowing down crossed her mind. So I pushed. Harder. The last hill was the longest and the head wind made it even more difficult to climb. I put my head down and tried to control my breathing. When i reached the top of it, we had to take a left turn and there was the finish line. A mere .2 miles away. I glanced at my watch.  I liked what I saw...I could reach my goal and maybe some more. I dug deep inside and picked up the pace again. I sprinted to the finish.  I crossed that finish line and I could feel my lungs and legs on fire. Mission accomplished.

My goal was to break the 30 minute mark. I did it. I finished in 27:07. I would have NEVER thought I could run this fast. I was ecstatic. I still have a smile on my face and the race was almost 24 hours ago. I know that to some of you this is a slow pace but this is HUGE for me. I have always been afraid of my "hurt box", afraid of not being able to handle it, but I did. 

Now it makes me wonder how much longer can I stay in it. Can't wait to find out.