Today was my first 5K!
First, I’d like to take a second to thank Jill from irun ieat for answering all my crazy questions I had after picking up my race packet last night. I woke up to your answers this morning and they immediately helped my nerves a little!
Husband and I were well rested. We went to bed around 10 and woke up about 7. I had some pretzels and water while he had toast and water. We got into our running clothes and arrived in Hudson around 8:15 am. Here we are in the parking lot after pinning our bibs on.
Excuse the squinting. It was sunny!
The atmosphere was really neat. There was a tent for people still registering and picking up packets, people running and stretching, and a farmers market was happening too! And of course I can’t forget the real reason why this race is even happening: to support Pancreatic Cancer Research.
I’m pretty sure I used the bathroom about 4 times due to nerves, but I started to calm down especially after the 1 mile fun run / walk began. The youth ran in the fun run and let me tell you these kids were adorable! They even had an under age 5 category!! Everyone was cheering so hard for these youth runners it was incredible!
Then it was our turn.
John and I were in approximately the third row of runners. I started our pretty strong — it was a slight downhill — but soon found my normal pace. At first I was getting discouraged since swarm of runners were passing me, but once I reached the 1 mile mark and the man yelled 9:18 as I ran by, I was stoked!
Mile 1.5 had the water which was great, but I started to get a cramp for about .25 of a mile. It was a hot morning. The course was pretty shadey — but when it wasn’t, it really wasn’t! I hit mile 2 at 20:07 which again was awesome for me. I started to realize I’m in my zone and it didn’t matter where I was in the pack. I was able to pass a few runners as we made our way up the biggest hill of the course during mile 3. I new hills were my friend!
I was getting toward the end and everyone was cheering for you even though you were a stranger! That was the most amazing and encouraging thing! John was standing toward the end of the course cheering me on for my last sprint. I finished at 30:28!! A personal best thus far for a 5K. John finished at 28:30, a personal best for him too.
We enjoyed water and bananas while we sat on the grass and watched the race of the runner finish. The ending was really special as the whole crowd cheered for an older gentle finishing last at around 56 minutes. He was so proud of himself and the race atmosphere is truly amazing.
They started raffling off gift certificate as we waited for the race results to be tabulated. I ended up winning a $15.00 gift certificate to All Star Sports! Super cool! The overall female and male finished around 19 and 16 minutes, respectively. WOW. Incredible. While I have no intention to ever be able to run that fast, I am super proud of myself with my first 5K. Thank you to everyone who has wished me well on my first runner adventure!
congrats katie! that’s great!
My first 5k was the 4th of july race in downtown altoona before junior year of high school, right before the XC season started and Sonja had talked me into joining the team. I remember running with some girls who ran XC for altoona and feeling really great about starting the season since I could keep up with them…then I found out they were just messing around haha Oh well!
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Congrats!!! I get SO nervous before races. My last one though I had 4 of my sorority sisters with me which really helped. One was a fantastic runner so she was calming me down a bunch.
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I’m so proud of you, Katie!! I’ve never run a race before, so I can’t even imagine what that rush of adrenaline and thrill must be like…I just live vicariously through your post! I really felt like I was there with you…nerves, plentiful bathroom trips, finish line, and all!
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I’ve never run a 5K but I’d like to! Congrats to you! You go girl!
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Congratulations!!!
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That’s wonderful! I love 5K’s
Awesome about the gift card, too!
The feeling of finishing a race is over-whelming, especially long, long, long distance races. I remember after finishing my 2nd marathon I was like, “I AM NEVER going to do that again.” …and I just took it all in
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Congrats on the race…I’m glad I could help! I still get nervous before races.
At the end of my first race, I just remember wanting to get home so I could sign up for more.
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Wow that is an awesome time! Congrats! When I ran my first 5k, I was super slow, but crossing that finish line is a great feeling.
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What a wonderful result for your first 5km!!! Great job!!!!
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Healthy Heddleston Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Thank you EVERYONE for your congratulations! It was suchhh a great feeling to complete my first running goal!! I think we are going to register for our next 5K for late Sept/early Oct when the weather cools off a bit! But literally, my mom is coming up next weekend and I wanted to run another race then so she could watch and take pictures!
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Congrats!! You did an amazing job for your first race! I have never actually ran a race before. I have thought about it a few times but don’t really want to put in the effort to train for one. I am the kind of person that goes for a run randomly just because I feel like it
haha.. I guess I am too fickle to commit to some type of training plan. I want to bike one day, swim another and go to yoga the next, etc.
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Wow! Way to go! Congrats!!
I need to sign up for a 5K this fall…I’ve never done one!
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Congrats!!! The first race is always so exciting
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