First 5K Race!

Today was my very first 5K race and I had a blast. I didn’t even finished with a great time (47:28 unofficial) but I finished! With just 3 weeks into my Couch to 5K (running/walking program) and never having ran 3.1 miles ever, I think I did great! I did get a bit nervous before I left the house but once I got there, I was fine. I got there early and had about an hour before the race started. They had everyone line up stagger start with the faster runners up front and the walkers in the back of the line. I decided to start in front of the walkers knowing that I was going to start out strong and then slow down to a walk which is exactly what happened. I was able to stay with the group and run continuously for nearly a mile! Running that long was a first for me and I was ecstatic! But after that first mile, it got hard! Moderate hills are fine but that dang steep hill (it’s down then up) got the best of me. It’s long and it’s steeper than it looks when you’re in a car! I did my best just to walk up them as my heart felt like it was going to beat out my chest. When I got to the top, it continued to go slightly upward and finally leveled out. I tried to start running again but my legs just felt like they would move but I pushed myself to run to the half way point which was the turn around point to come back to where we started. So once again, that dang steep hill again which was harder going back because there is a second smaller up hill right after it. By the time I got to the top of that second hill, my legs felt like jello and I ended up walking the entire last mile. I have no idea where I finished overall but at least I wasn’t last!