First Race...

M.A.D Dash 5k
May 14, 2011

Ok, so I had been following the Couch to 5k program (not very consistently) and I decided to sign up for my first 5k.  The race was the M.A.D. Marathon which also had a 5k, 10k, and Half.  I remember the day of the race.  I got up and ready.  Taking my time tying my running shoes and putting on my sweet shirt.  (I still LOVE race shirts).  I was so nervous.

My hubby was already gone...I think it was Finals week.  So I woke up my 14 year old so she could watch the others.  I got in the car and drove across town.  I seriously thought about going somewhere else...just skipping the race entirely.  I had plenty of reasons not to run (don't we all).  I had just lost a grandfather who was so dear to me and hadn't run in a week or two.  Who was I kidding anyway?  3.2 miles might as well have been 32 miles. I guess I forgot that I wasn't going because I ended up there.

 The race was a rural residential race.  I had to park pretty far from the starting line.  There were so many people there.   I was surprised by that.  I was also shocked by all the different types of people...tall, skinny, short, chubby, old, young.   I realized, as we were told to go to the starting line, that I had a problem.  I was going to have to run with my keys in my hand.  Being a beginning runner, I had no idea this was going to be a problem.  This is when I learned it is a great advantage to have someone at the finish line.  They can not only hold your stuff, but then you know that you have to get back to them in order to get it back.

That is when I found a friend (thank goodness) that I did not know was running.  She handed my keys to her husband.  We lined up and then found another lady I knew.  It was kind of exciting.  Then the race began.  It is quite the adrenalin rush.  I kept telling myself no matter what I was not going to be last...and guess what?? I wasn't.  I did not run the whole thing.  (Yes, I walked part of it...and I found out that some runners are a bit biased against walk-runners).  What I can say is that I finished...my final time was 40:57, but I finished.

This first race really got me thinking about doing it again..so I signed up for another race in July.  Running is never easy for me...I huff and I puff and most the time feel like I am going to fall down, but I don't.

My mantra started with this first race: run...chubby girl...run!