Yesterday was my 2nd 5K since finishing C25K (Couch to 5K) in August. My 5K in September was a small, local event. But, this 5K was HUGE! It was the Houston Komen Race for the Cure... and we had over 32,000 (yes!) walkers and runners. I was amazed!
I went to the race by myself and, as I'd mentioned earlier, was worried about parking. Well, I actually found a parking garage really easily which was just about 2-3 blocks away. It was still dark as I walked to the park area, but there were 1,000s of runners/walkers out, too, so I wasn't nervous.
I got to the park and there were dozens of tents giving out freebies. My first thought was, 'how can runners be picking up freebies before the race? where would they keep them?' But, then I saw the wagons and all of the others who were there just to walk, raise money, and have a great time. So, I understood. I only got a free small towel because it is allergy season for me and I forgot to bring anything! I sometimes run with a water bottle, so I knew I'd be OK.
As I walked around, I was amazed that I started getting quite emotional. This race is to raise money to fight breast cancer. There were a lot of survivors there - either to walk or run. And, there were people walking around with pink signs on their back saying "in memory of" or "in celebration of." I saw at least one that said "in memory of 'my mom'" and one that said "in celebration of myself" along with some other names. I saw a booth where you could make signs, and I walked over and grabbed two.
My grandmother, Evelyn Kaechle, had breast cancer in the mid-80's. She was treated successfuly and was cancer-free until 2003. She ended up with cancer 'all over' her body, which they beleived stemmed from her earlier breast cancer. She lost her battle in 2003 at the age of 88. I raced "in memory of" my grandmother, Evelyn Kaechle.
My husband's grandmother, Lillian Hunter, had breast cancer, too. Her cancer was in 2000 and she is a survivor. I proudly raced for her, too.
After I finished writing their names, it was hard for me to control my emotions. One of the volunteers pinned the signs on my back as I tried to gain my composure. I was thinking of both of my grandmothers and also thinking about what so many who were there at the race must be going through. Some had signs of people who had died this year. A group had signs of someone who had died just last month. How hard this must be for them! And, at the same time, they knew they were there helping to raise money to fight this disease.
After I finisihed my sign, I lined up at a port-o-potty. The line wasn't very long and I still had about an hour's wait! After that, I decided I needed to figure out where to line up.
The park area is huge and I wasn't sure where to go. I saw another couple and one of them had on a blue tag (like me) which means you are running the competitive race. I asked if she knew where she was going. She didn't, but I decided to stick with her and we could figure it out together.
She dropped her husband off at the "non-competitive" area and then we found our way to the "competitive" area. We thought there would be signs showing paces so we knew where to line up. There weren't, but we both wanted to be fairly far back. She's a lot faster than me - she was expecting to run an 8 minute mile.
A few minutes before the start, another lady came up to me and asked if I was "I M Smiley." It was BABHONORS! I knew she'd be at the race, but I was shocked she'd found me! I had my profile shirt on "Believe and Achieve" and she recognized me! We talked for the few minutes before the gun went off. During that time, she told me she usually runs about a 14-15 minute mile. (I think.) I told her that my last 5K was about 15 minutes/mile and I was hoping to go as fast as a 14 minute mile. Actually, my goal has been to break 45 minutes.
The starting gun went off and took a good 1-2 minutes before we got to start walking. With such a large crowd, everyone basically walks until they reach the starting line. When I stepped on the starting line, I started my 'slow' jog along with the crowd. About a minute later, I realized taht BAB was beside me! So, we talked a tiny bit.
I asked if she'd started the timer on her watch because I'd forgotten! She had and was able to give me the information so I knew approximately how to adjust my timer. We kept jogging along together. At one point, she told us we'd hit the 1 mile mark! (It wasn't marked on the course, but she had a Garmin.) I believe it was at about 12:30! I couldn't believe it! Ive only once broken a 14 minute mile!
She kept running and I kept struggling to keep up. But, I was doing it! I kept thinking I should tell her to go on without me if she wanted, but I kept trying to stay up with her, too.
We walked for about a minute at mile 1 and about another minute at mile 2. I couldn't believe it when we hit the 2nd mile at about 26 minutes or so. How could I be running so fast? And, this was the hardest I've ever pushed myself. Could I keep it up???
The last mile, like my other 5K, was the hardest. I didn't think I could keep up this pace. I got a stitch in my side for a minute, but was able to breathe through it. We had to go under an overpass and there was a pretty steep 'hill' on the other side. We both walked, as did most of those around us.
We got closer and closer to the end and I kept thinking "I can't do this!" But, a voice inside of me kept telling me I could. I actually thought about what how my sister-in-law would be telling me that I COULD do it if she were beside me. I kept running!
The finish line, even when BAB told me we were at 2.8 miles, seemed so far away. When I run at home, I always get a burst of energy near the end. I wanted the burst, but I could barely go at the pace we were going!
We passed the 'finish' line for survivors. We heard the lady on the speaker talking about the survivors crossing the finish line and the various names that we were running 'in memory of' or 'in honor of.' I kept running. I finally saw the actually finish line. I stuck next to BAB and we CROSSED THE LINE! What an incredible feeling. "What was our time?" I asked. 40:40... 40:40... I couldn't believe it! I'd wanted to break 45 minutes and I'd made it in 40:40!!! WOW!
We walked on. It was really crowded and I desperately wanted water. Where's the water??? I finally saw some volunteers and I had to backtrack a little to grab a water bottle. Ahh!! Then, I saw LOTS of volunteers ahead of us with water bottles.
I walked next to BAB and was trying to talk to her and thank her for her help in 'pushing' me, but I could barely talk. And, I could barely walk! My equillibrium was off and I kept walking sideways.
We got to a long row of tables where they had 1,000s of Luna bars, bananas and apples. I grabbed a banana and an apple. Afterwards, I thought that was kind of greedy of me and I hope they had plenty! But, at the time I was just wanting some nourishment.
I walked with BAB and went to meet her husband. She introduced me and we talked for a few minutes before I left. My family was already at our lake house and I had a long drive ahead of me.
I really felt on top of the world! You should have heard me as I talked with my sister-in-law. I was so giddy with happiness! I couldn't believe that I'd run that fast. That I'd beat my own PR by so much... almost 6 minutes! And, that is a blessing of being slow. Who else can take almost 6 minutes off their 5K time?
I'm feeling great and ready to run some more!
Ugh....I had photos to load, but I always have problems! I think my camera is set to take too high and the files are too big! Trying to add photos...
(Days to Half Marathon: 173)
(Today's Training: 6.9 miles on bike)
(Yesterday's Training: 3.1 mile race and 4 miles on bike)
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