So on Saturday I ran my first 5k, the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, and I had a blast!  There were so many things that I learned and noticed that I really did not expect.  The experience was so new and so different for me, that I almost felt like a kid running around with that child-like wonder. 

Let me start out by saying that there was a ton of people there.  The website states that there were at least 23,700 people registered participants but they don’t have the official numbers yet.  A LOT OF PEOPLE.  Very cool.  So it took me awhile to get up to the starting line because there were so many people packed in waiting for the race to start.  It actually started before I made it up there! 

As I began running though, and dodging people left and right, something flew into my eye!  Haha, it’s funny now but at the time I was so annoyed because I couldn’t see out of my left eye!  I kept blinking over and over, probably looking like Pop-Eye with one eye closed and tears streaming down it, but I kept running.  Here’s some post-race footage of me explaining about this horrible unforseen circumstance!

So once the eye thing cleared up, I was on my way.  I immediately fell in love with the feel of the sidewalk/road/grass under my feet.  I had run outside before but this felt different.  I kept dodging people so it was kinda like I was doing some off-road running, 4 wheel drive or something.  Like a Nike commercial.  Yeah, so that’s how I imagined I looked.  And man, did that road feel good!

The first mile breezed by and I was pacing myself really well.  It wasn’t until the first HILL that I got thrown off.  All the sudden I am trudging up this monstrosity of a hill, clinging to my every breath, gritting my teeth, and sweating like nobodies business.  Once I reached the top, I was greeted with a lady cop who I will refer to as my angel.  Just at the right moment, she shouted at me “You own that hill girl!! Don’t let that little old hill hold you back!!”  And wow, did those words whip me back into shape.  I gasped a “thank you” as I ran by her, and I will never forget how important her words were for me at that exact moment. 

That’s something I was not expecting.  All along the course there were these beautiful, wonderful, gracious souls cheering us on, spraying us with water hoses (haha, that sounds funny), handing out water, shouting words of encouragement, and even breast cancer survivors there supporting us.  And wow, I felt so honored to be running for them. 

There were people that had these pink squares of paper pinned to their backs with the names of the people they were running/walking in memory of.  One man was walking for his wife who had died from breast cancer.  Wow. I was running for her.

So the motivation was incredible.  The devotion of the people there was incredible.  The whole experience was quite special.

So I managed to run the entire 5k with two slow-downs for water, in 40 minutes.  WOOT!  I run it on the treadmill in 38 minutes so I was very excited about that time!!  I met my goal.  What a great feeling!

Now I have a new goal.  To keep training hard so I can run the Bele Chere 5k with greater ease.  My run on Saturday really pushed me to my limits, being that I was not used to the heat, hills, and people-dodging.  By the time I finished, I was on the verge of losing my breakfast.  So yeah, my new goal is to improve my endurance for my next race.  I’ll have to, because anybody that’s been to Asheville, NC knows that there aren’t many roads there that don’t have hills!! 

So let’s bring on the next adventure…