RACE DAY!!!

Ah, it's all over. It was definitely...an experience. :) I did get a sweet long-sleeved t-shirt though:


Let's begin with the weekend as a whole. I went out with some grad students from my program Friday night, stayed out too late, had awkward flashbacks of my undergrad career, and woke up about 7 hours later. I made my way to Decatur Saturday afternoon to meet up with my friend Tracy (and running partner for today) before going to Bloomington to watch the EIU Panthers play the ISU Redbirds in football.

EIU WINS!!!











Sack that guy!!!

After jumping around all night, screaming, yelling and clapping I thought for sure I'd ruined myself for my first ever 5K run the next morning. But, we got to bed "early" (10:30ish) and got up at 6:30am to get ready and get to the race so Tracy could get registered. Plenty of time. We walked to and from the car a couple of times, I did some stretching and before I knew it, we were off!

The course starts at Nelson Park in Decatur and stretches along Lake Decatur. To start, you head up a gradual hill (past my old apartment), zig-zags around a few streets at the top of Lake Shore Dr. and then back down Lake Shore to the starting line. It was a beautiful morning and definitely not hot, in fact, a bit cool at 8am, but pretty humid. As I was running, it was hard to get my breath, but I tried to keep my gasps for air as regular as possible. After a while I felt like I sounded like I was on a freakin' respirator.

I only walked a few steps during the entire race when we came upon our water stop. I'm coordinated, but not THAT coordinated. It felt good to drink something since my mouth was getting dry from gasping for air most of the time and it felt good to slow down, even if it was only for a minute or so.

During the last half mile, I really felt like I couldn't go on, but somehow I did. Fortunately, Tracy and a friend of hers were just a few steps ahead and my friend Adam H. from college had caught up to me. Although I barely spoke during the race, it was nice to at least have people by your side, keeping you honest and motivated. When we finished, Adam was right next to me, but for fun, I found a few ounces of energy and kicked it up through the chute. Since I'm not a "serious" runner I wasn't wearing a watch and I really didn't pay attention to the clock except for the minutes...33. So, I'll have to wait until the results are posted on the website to find out my exact time.

We grabbed some water, hit the bathroom, and then started up the hill to the pavilion where food and Powerade were waiting. The Powerade and a banana hit the spot before I felt like I wanted to eat a sandwich. We didn't stick around long enough for the awards, but received our medals and took off.

Overall, it was a good experience. I would do it again, but not soon! When I do, I will be a lot more serious about running outside and sticking to a training program more religiously. Until then...I rewarded myself with a Frisco Melt from Steak 'n Shake on my way home from Decatur and I will be taking a nap shortly.

Thanks for reading and thanks to my partners today!!!