Runnin' in the Rain

Well, I am happy to report that I finished the 5K today.  Being that there was thunder and lightening as the race started, I had some doubts about whether they would cancel it.  Because of all the rain we got yesterday and again this morning they also had to change the course a bit.  I got to dodge tree roots and a fair number of mud puddles and water puddles still.  I don't know exactly how I finished compared to the other racers in my age group, but I finished with my fastest time yet and with a hard push at the end so I'm happy.  Especially since it's my first 5K in 7 years and I really only trained for 2 weeks prior.

I think it's safe to say, I want to try this again.  A 5K is definitely something I can see myself doing on a somewhat regular basis.  And I can see myself getting faster if I train consistently.  In fact, I'm thinking of doing a night race in July.  My goal for that one will be to cut 4 minutes off my time from today.

Good news... tomorrow's training day is a 2 mile walk so I can do that in my old tennis shoes.  That's important since it will probably take a couple days for my shoes to dry out from today's run... that ankle deep puddle really got my feet wet.

Update: I was able to figure out how I placed.  11th for my age group and 135th out of 171 overall.  And one more thing... when the race started I was about 200 feet from the start line talking to a friend who wasn't running, so I could have done better just by starting with everyone else.  With the rain I wasn't thinking I'd do that well.  If I'd have known I'd do as well as I did, I think I would have tried a bit harder... next time.

Pushing Through

I like to think of myself as an athlete.  I played soccer on a co-ed county league for many years.  I enjoy swimming, bicycling, and even weight training.  Running on the other hand... I like the idea of it, but I'm just not good at it.  A sprint I can do, but distances are not my thing.  So when someone mentioned there is a half-marathon in November that is supporting a cause near and dear to my heart, I thought about saying no simply because "I don't do distances."  But I heard this song on the radio and decided that I'm not going to use that as an excuse.  I may not get the best time, I may not even finish, but I'm at least going to try.

To that end, I'm running run/walking a 5K tomorrow.  While training the last couple days I've found that that 1.5 mile - 2 mile mark is my tough point.  But once I get past that, the rest is cake.  So here's to overcoming my fears, overcoming my doubts, and pushing through.