I did something yesterday that I never thought, in a million years, that I would so in my lifetime.
I ran a 5K race.
Yep... I am feeling a bit sore today but that is expected.
On Saturday, we hung out over at Jon's friend Dave's house. We sat around, caught up, and played with his absolutely adorable baby. Dave's mom came over and made king crab legs, shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes, all in a huge pot with Cajun spices. OH MY GOSH..... we were in heaven. The food was just amazing. We proceeded to drink.... have some shots of vodka.... and then lots and lots of water.
At 8:00 am, we were up.... feeling a bit sluggish.... drinking water, having some coffee and breakfast, and stretching out. Jon and I with Brad and Rachel took off to Kari's house to pick her up and then off to Carlsbad.
The clouds were so dark. We were praying that it wouldn't start raining. I was so nervous.... and anxious. I haven't had any problems with my anxiety since I moved back from New York. I have kept it in check and always tried to remain calm in stressful situations. No more hyperventilating! But amidst these thousands and thousands of people, I started feeling a bit uneasy.
We got there, all picked up our numbers to pin to our shirts and these clip thingies to put on our shoes that tracked our time. The boys then decided to leave us girls to go to the finish line to cheer us on! So cool.
Rachel, Kari, and I walked over to the starting positions... Kari ended up leaving us and going to the 8-mile minute section. I knew I wouldn't be running that fast so Rachel and I stayed over in the ten-minute mile section. I kept stretching... trying to remain calm.... trying not to feel trapped... making sure I could see a way out of need be.
We were waiting..... and waiting..... and waiting..... The race was delayed because we had to wait for the train to cross Grand.
And then.......
it started raining.
It was just drizzling at first. But then it got heavier. I was getting pretty soaked, standing there, waiting to start the race. I was starting to lose my faith... thinking this was a bad idea and why was I doing this, etc. But then, these two girls next to me started cracking jokes. I decided to join in. That would keep my mind focused and my spirits high.
Suddenly, in the rain, the announcer said the train was now passed and to have a great run! Wooo-hoo! Adrenaline to the rescue! The gun fired and we were off.
I started jogging... crossed the starting line with the huge herd of people.... and realized I was smiling.
Next thing I know, we are rounding a corner and billions of people are standing there, cheering us on. It was the most amazing feeling. Within a minute or two, the rain stopped falling and the sun came out. Half way through the first mile, it got down right warm! We turned another corner, and there we were, running along the beautiful beach. I can't even describe to you how gorgeous it was and what a great feeling it was.
I passed the first mile mark at 10 minutes, which was pretty good for me… being a non-runner and all. The second mile was hard. It was mostly up hill. Thank goodness they had some water tables set up. It was just like you see on TV. They had volunteers with cups in hand ready to give out. I ran by, grabbed a cup of water... drank some and splashed the rest on my face.... and then tossed the cup. Hee hee hee
The third mile sucked. I switched off walking for a minute and then running for a minute. I was really pooped. But the last quarter of the race was mostly down hill so I picked it up.
I ended up finishing the 3.1-mile race at 35 minutes and 22 seconds. For someone who just started running a few months ago AND who has never participated in a race, I feel pretty darn good about that. It was a big achievement for me. Something I never thought I would do. Although, I never thought I would golf and I seem to be doing a lot of that lately too.
After we finished the race, they had free t-shirts, water bottles, oranges, donuts, bananas, and beer for us. I took a few sips of beer just to celebrate but the taste of beer literally made me want to bomb. It just wasn't what I needed. We ended up going to Hennessey's, a bar that Brad used to work at before he moved to Sacramento. There, we had tons of water! I had a big ole salad with some chicken. YUMMY.
Full, tired, and sweaty, the boys went to play golf and the girls went shopping for brides maid dresses. Rachel is getting married at the end of June and Kari is getting married in October. So, I went along with them to check it all out.
I ended up back at Jon's parents house around 5:30 PM..... exhausted. We finished our laundry, finished Jon's taxes, and then his parents took us out to Islands for dinner. At 8:30 PM, we figured it was time to head back to Pasadena.
10:30 PM, rain falling, head on the pillow.... completely out.
Posted by Jenny at April 14, 2003 09:30 AM