Running my first 5K

My first attempt at running came last year.  I decided along with a few co-workers to run the Cinco de Mayo 5K in Highlands Ranch, CO May 5, 2011.  I figured if anything I would get some free beer when the race was done.  So with no training whatsoever, I showed up that morning along with 3 co-workers and one of my best friends from high school who had just moved out from Omaha recently. I was really excited and nervous. I felt very official walking around before the race with my bib on and my ankle time chip in place.  The one down side to this day was that my husband decided not to be there and watch my first race - In his words " I've been to and competed in enough races in my past, I dont want to goto another one."  But, at least my friends from work and Tammy were there with me.

Barely doing any stretching I began the race. The course according to my friend Stacey, who has run a few races before :), was a pretty tough one with a lot of rollers and some pretty steep inclines.  So, Seth ( who had been training for this forever & has the body to prove it ) & Stacey pretty much left Tammy, Lorraine and I in the dust.  We started out jogging / walking and trying to stay ahead of the ( as we felt... ) much older & much more out of shape people than we were.  I mean literally, small children, moms with strollers & dogs and people older than my parents were passing us. It was somewhat embarrassing to say the least.

I was feeling pretty good so I told Tammy and Lorraine I was going to push ahead a bit and try to run as much of this as I could.  It felt really good to be out there doing something physical at a time of day when I am almost always still sleeping.  I got past mile one and thought "This might actually be something I can finish".  I kept my steady pace of walking and jogging for awhile and kept passing and then being passed by this couple of girls who, as I found out because I tend to talk to anyone and make them my new best friends, were also running their first 5K too.  We chatted about how old I was, how young they were, etc...  And started keeping the same pace.  They were fun to chat with and helped me not focus so much on "Are we there yet?" going on in my head.  They did get some good laughs at me though as we approached mile two and I developed the worse cramp in my lower ass that I have ever felt in my life.  It was horrible.  Did I stop to stretch it out?  Slow down a bit?  Do anything relatively smart about it?  NO.  I kept going because come hell or high water I was finishing this f**king race.

I did end up pulling ahead of them a bit and finished the last 1.1 mile on my own.  The final leg as you can start to see the rec center we started at come into view is through this openspace area with a literal switch back trail to get you back up to the road next to the center.  I thought I might die.  This switch back was only like maybe 25 yards but brutal when you have just ran almost 3 miles.  As I saw the .1 remaining sign approach ( again on an uphill section ) I decided I was going to run into the finish area if it killed me.  And, as bad as my ass cramp was feeling, that might be difficult.  I did however finish with a big huge smile on my face and had my friends Stacey & Seth there to cheer me on as I crossed my very first finish line. 

Stacey, Tammy, ME, Seth & Lorraine

Cinco de Mayo 5K  May 7, 2011
                           Age group            Chip time          Pace           F/M finish                Overall
Sue Mandel        F 40-49                 40:29.1             13:02          128 / 166                  251 / 296
Tammy               F 40-49                 45:45.9             14:44          143 / 166                  269 / 296
Lorraine             F 40-49                 49:38.4             15:59           156 / 166                  285 / 296
Stacey                F 30-39                 30:17.6              9:45            44 / 166                    123 / 296
Seth                   M 30-39                23:54.4              7:42            34 / 130                    42 / 296

The week following the race, I could barely move.  I walked with a severe limp for several days & had difficulty getting in and out of bed, out of chairs & on and off the toilet.  The one thing I learned is to not do this again!  Just kidding, I learned to train, stretch and train some more.  I was really looking forward to doing one of these again someday.