Detroit Free Press 5K Walk/Run

On Sunday I participated in my first 5k. I had mixed feelings about it because:

1) No age requirements so kids and older folks are busting it out there on the course.
2) I was just walking. I walk all the time.
3) I was alone.

I felt silly for being so nervous but despite barely getting any sleep the night before, forgetting that I needed to get gas and trying to find parking, I successfully made it to downtown Detroit and found the staging area for the race. The full and half marathons went first around 7:00am then us little 5kers went around 7:25am. I made sure to use the restroom and get rid of all things before even lining up. Nerves were definitely high as I didn't want to be trampled, fall down, or make a general ass of myself.

The rules say that you must complete the entire course (5k=3.1 miles) in under 1 hour and 10 minutes. My goal was to make it under 1 hour giving me roughly a 20 min. mile. I figured that I could handle that. After the start, there was some congestion with getting the runners out first and them having to dodge walkers that were in the front. As soon as the first mile hit, we were all in a rhythm. I kept a pretty fast, consistent pace all the way through and didn't feel the actual pain of not being in shape until close up to mile 3. Once we headed back around and made one of the last turns to the final crossing line, the wind really picked up and it started sprinkling just ever so slightly. I wore compression capris, sports bra, cotton t-shirt and my UCF lined windbreaker plus fingerless gloves and an headband/ear coverer. I definitely felt warm after that first mile but the windbreaker kept me from getting soaked so I figured it was a good choice after all.

It was super weird to cross the finish and have people cheering for you! I kept looking at my time and trying do math in my head which isn't smart since I'm not strong in math and I was tired. I knew that I had definitely killed my goal and was much more concerned about getting some ever so delicious Gatorade. I went through the food/drinks line and walked around a bit before heading back to the car. I wanted to make sure that I had everything and was feeling good. The nice walk back to the car was a good cool down although once I got home, I started feeling the muscles going "Oh...what the hell was that?!" kind of thing. I did lots of stretching and took a warm shower before powering down into a sweetly short and deep nap.

I feel really proud of myself for not only finishing something but pushing myself to do better.  

P.S. I do believe I will be doing the Turkey Trot 5k, too!