Skip to main content

First Race

I ran my first 5K race yesterday. It was the Walk for Paws benefit for the Naples Humane Society. The air was a delightful 40 degrees with a crisp breeze.

The native Floridian in me was completely comfortable in a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants.

The control freak in me was extremely anxious about the details of the race, and my brain raced through ideas like finding the starting line and hoping I wouldn't be the last one to cross the finish line. I didn't know if other people would bring their iPods, so I left mine in the car. I worried over where to place my number on my shirt and whether or not I would look like a complete dork when I ran.

The whole experience was a blast. We all started with a light jog, but it wasn't long before I fell behind my friends. They ran the entire course. Since I've only been training for two weeks, I did my run/walk alternation. I was in HEAVEN! For a little more than three miles, I let my mind wander and thoughts run wild with every step on the pavement.

I finished in 55 minutes, and I'm okay with that. It's a great starting point, and I have a goal now for the next race, which just happens to be in 6 weeks. I'd like to shave 10% off my finish time.

The funny part, though, is how different I feel today. Of course, my muscles are so sore that I move extremely slowly right now (and only when I have to). But it's more than that. I really think I've found something that suits me. It's like when I first picked up a violin or a writing journal. Running feels that natural to me.

I see myself a bit differently this morning. I'm a bit kinder to my mental comments on my reflection in the mirror. I've softened my inner commentary on my ideas about myself. I know it all sounds hokey, but I needed this more than you can ever imagine. I am so excited about training for the next event.

Yep, I ran a race yesterday.
Labels:

Comments

Christy said…
No hokey at all. Congratulations! On so many levels :)
1:30 PM
Anonymous said…
I am so proud of you. I think you have done something many hope to do but never get around to. Maybe one of these days I'll run with you.
7:45 AM
Anonymous said…
Wow, great story... congratulations. I have my first 5K scheduled for the end of April. I'm a little nervous, but ready.
12:12 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Carnival

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in southwest Florida, although still a bit too warm for my November tastes. I'm learning to enjoy my weekends with as much unstructured and unscheduled time as possible. Last Saturday was a delightful unstructured day. A new friend of mine (the one from the Everglades excursion) and I went to a local carnival. Now, here's the thing...I LOVE carnivals. The food. The people. The rides. The lights. I can easily spend an entire day wandering through the crowds. He's no carnival slouch. The first thing we did was walk through the entire place, scoping out the rides. Then the fun began. We rode almost every ride there (except for the kiddie attractions and the broken Tornado). The Wild Claw. The Scrambler. The Orbiter. The Space Oddysey. The Swings. The Pharaoh's Fury. The Ferris Wheel. The Giant Slide. The Haunted House. The Avalanche. It was all good. How can you top a ride that uses centrifugal force to plaster your body against...
2 comments
Read more

Busy Days Ahead

It's been a busy week for me. I left my house at 4:30 Monday morning for my drive down south and pulled back in my driveway at 1:20 this morning. The days have been long, too, between working at the new school from 7:30 until 3:00 or 4:00 and then working at the new place until 9:00 or 10:00 each night. I now have callouses on my fingers and not one intact finger nail. I think I've also developed a new twitch somewhere on my face. One afternoon this week, I stood in the middle of our new living room and took in the sight of missing drywall, a growing hole in the floor and soaked up my husband's predictions that we still won't be ready to paint by the weekend. All I wanted to do was cry. All I felt was nothingness. Numbness. Anyone who has ever reached the point of numbness knows that it's scarier than feeling like you're falling apart. It's one step beyond feeling like you're falling apart. I couldn't help but wonder just what we had gotten ourselves...
5 comments
Read more

Stranger Obligations

I had to make a few difficult decisions this week. At least, they were difficult for me. I wish I could be the kind of person who completely makes decisions based on his/her own needs and wants and boldly moves through life with unabashed freedom from how our choices affect others. But I'm not built like that. I had placed an ad for my former stray. I felt like it was time to find her a more permanent home because so much in my life right now is uncertain. One person answered the ad, but she did not seem like a good fit, and I gave up further thought. This week I received another response. As long as this person is telling the truth, it's an ideal situation for the dog. Yet, I had a strange feeling and could not sort out whether or not it was my intuition kicking in or that fact that I actually like the dog and don't want to see her go. In the end, I decided that it was in my own (and my Winnipeg's) best interest for her to stay with us through the summer. (I seri...
5 comments
Read more