Race Report: Run for Scouting 5K

I participated in my second 5K, the Run for Scouting 5K at Duncan Park in Spartanburg, SC. I arrived early since I didn’t pre-register for this event but too my surprise at 7:15 for an 8:00 start, not too many people were there. I got my bid number, timing chip (high tech for Spartanburg so I hear) and started my pre-run warmups. At 8:00 we were off and I was able to keep a nice 10 min/mile pace the first mile. Once I hit the first mile marker, I decided to walk for 3 minutes then run as long as possible then walk for 3 mins and continue with that until the finish line. At the two mile mark, my split was 24:25. I felt I was doing great as I kept talking to myself the entire time, focusing on controlling my breathing, staying relaxed and running my own race while others would pass me by. Mile 3 was mostly at a slight uphill making it really hard for me to run continuous for more than 2 minutes. I looked at my watch and noticed it was at 36 mins and I probably had another quarter mile to go (it was hard to tell). I just knew I had to pick up the pace if I was going to meet my goal of under 40 mins and that’s exactly what I did. Once I had the mile 3 marker in my sight, I cranked it up digging deeper than I ever dug before. Ignoring the signals my brain was telling me to slow down, I continued to run, pushing myself further than I ever have. When I reached the top of the hill and made the slight turn, I saw the finish line clock at 38:14 and cranked it up a notch determined I was going to beat it before it reached 40 minutes! I crossed the finish line in 39:50 and was so stoked that I finished under my goal of 40 minutes!
The next 5K I will probably participate is the Main Squeeze 5K at the Pine Street YMCA on June 27. By this time, I will be finishing up my 10th week of running  and should be running 20  minutes continuous by then…so we’ll see. The thought of running 3.1 miles without having to walk still seems like a long way from now. Probably because I’m training in my neighborhood with some very steep hills!

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!