My fifth 5K race this year. This race was actually a last minute decision to enter. I had plans on entering then decided not to and then about a week out decided to just do it anyway. It was a cross country double loop course at the North Spartanburg Baseball Complex. To make matters worse it was quite chilly with a light drizzle.
I arrived about 45 mins early like I always do to give myself 20 mins to warm up and 10 mins to stretch after registering.
Mile 1 – Went well, it started with a slight uphill before going downhill then around the baseball fields. At first it didn’t seem so tough to run in wet grass until I hit some really wet spots.
Mile 2- Started struggling really bad with heavy jello leg feelings. It took everything I had to pick them up and take a step forward. At this point, I was questioning myself on why I even was doing this race.
Mile 3 – It took every effort to just keep moving. I almost wanted to give up and just call it quits but I was determined to finish. By far this was the hardest 5K I have ever ran. What was suppose to be a slow easy fun run turned into becoming quite a hard and challenging run.
I finished with a time of 38:15, not bad for me at that course but it was last place which caused a lot of disappointment shortly after the race. The next day, I realized half the pre-registered participants didn’t even show up to run so by just showing up, I felt I already won the race. It’s a reminder to not get caught up in my times and just go out there and run my best each and every time. I’m realizing that everyone is different and for some of us running doesn’t come naturally and we must work harder to become faster and more efficient.
But crossing that finish line is still the best feeling though!
I arrived about 45 mins early like I always do to give myself 20 mins to warm up and 10 mins to stretch after registering.
Mile 1 – Went well, it started with a slight uphill before going downhill then around the baseball fields. At first it didn’t seem so tough to run in wet grass until I hit some really wet spots.
Mile 2- Started struggling really bad with heavy jello leg feelings. It took everything I had to pick them up and take a step forward. At this point, I was questioning myself on why I even was doing this race.
Mile 3 – It took every effort to just keep moving. I almost wanted to give up and just call it quits but I was determined to finish. By far this was the hardest 5K I have ever ran. What was suppose to be a slow easy fun run turned into becoming quite a hard and challenging run.
I finished with a time of 38:15, not bad for me at that course but it was last place which caused a lot of disappointment shortly after the race. The next day, I realized half the pre-registered participants didn’t even show up to run so by just showing up, I felt I already won the race. It’s a reminder to not get caught up in my times and just go out there and run my best each and every time. I’m realizing that everyone is different and for some of us running doesn’t come naturally and we must work harder to become faster and more efficient.
But crossing that finish line is still the best feeling though!
