To say it was easy would be a lie. It was tough. The course was much harder in some spots than I imagined it would be. My hubby and I scoped out the course Saturday when we were out and about and at first I thought, "I can do this. It will be okay." And even when we got there I was fine.
But holy moly it was really tougher than it looked. There were some pretty steep hills UP and not quite as many down. It started off up hill and finished up hill. Finishing up hill was not great for me. I had it set in my mind that I would sprint the last little bit to the finish line because that would help me gain some lost time. Well, I couldn't gain any momentum going up that hill.
I was pretty disappointed after the race. Actually I was disappointed headed to the finish line. When I saw the clock and saw that it was over 38 minutes I was upset with myself. I kept thinking, "I should have pushed myself a lot harder. I should not have made excuses during certain parts and slowed down." But once I got home and thought about the fact that a year ago I was by no means a runner, I was proud. This was my third 5K for just this year.
I won't say that going into it I didn't have high expectations for myself. I did. But that was until I had sat around most of the morning thinking about it and got myself a wee bit nervous. It was raining all morning and cold. I had never ran (a race) in the rain or really the cold. So, that got me just a little on edge. When we got there and registered I was glad there was a timing chip. Sometimes at smaller race events you won't get a timing chip. I like to have one so I can get a more accurate time!
Anyway, my hubby finished at around 31-32 minutes and was waiting on me and at the finish. He said the clock looked like it was about 39 minutes but under 40. I got an unofficial time from someone and was told 40:05 was my time. While I am still a little disappointed in my time I am still happy that I did finish standing and I was not the very last person (who still finished, too!!!) across the finish line. I am hoping that I can get some official results and photos soon.
I am thankful that my hubby and friend ran this race with me too. We were so tired when we got home last night. We were both very sore too. My guess is that it was all the darn hills! I had thought about doing another run locally in a few weeks BUT after this one I have decided that I want to forgo any competitive running (if I can even call it that, it is a race after all) for now and stick with running because it's good for me. My goals until the end of the year are to work harder to better myself as far as running goes and to become stronger. I also want to step up the strength training workouts in hopes to tone some of the areas I have neglected the last several months.
Hubby and myself, pre-race.
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