The Results Are In!

The First Run of the New Year was a success!  I got to the First Run in Lowell, MA around 10 AM - nerves and all.  My first stop was to pick up my number 518 (my favorite number is 8 so I was happy it was included!).  There were over 1700 runners signed up for both the 5K and 10K.  It was very cold and windy so that only added to my nerves but despite the weather, I felt confident.  I got a good night's sleep and did not have one drink at the NYE party we attended last night.  I wanted to give myself the best chance to do well today.  And did well I did (pats myself on back) LOL. 

Brett was super supportive and left me at the start line to await my return.  A group of young girls started the run with a great rendition of the National Anthem and a countdown to the start of the race.  The bell sounded and I started my treck and my own countdown to the 6.2 mile marker.

I got a great surprise at the first turn of the race - my grandmother and mom came to cheer me on!  It felt good to have someone else cheering me on.  The first mile went great - I looked down at my watch and saw 10 minutes on the clock - a 10 minute mile! Wow - I was stoked.  If I kept this pace I could finish in an hour - my original goal was anything better than 1 hour 20 minutes - but now I had a new goal.  I'm not sure if it was overly ambitious but I went for it anyway. Typically I don't stop at water stations but today I slowed down at each one - happy to take the water to replenish.  And I'm glad I did! 

My mom snapped this picture of me at about mile 2.5. 
I almost look like a professional HaHa!

The completion of the first half of the race was right around the corner and while many runners stopped at mile 3.1, I still had another 3.1 loop.  I never train with music so I chuckled as runners went past saying, "we're almost there" "the 3 mile marker is in sight; only .1 miles to go".  Not for me!

I came through the 3.1 mile marker in 31 minutes - a great time for me and one of my quickest 5K times. The last half of the race I just kept thinking that it was half over and if I could do the first half, this would be a piece of cake.  While it wasn't quite a piece of cake (although I could have used one around mile 5 - I started getting so hungry), I got into a rhythm and as I passed my mom for the second time I was still able to talk to her.  She started jogging alongside of me with her Dunks coffee and asked how my time was coming (I maintained a 10:30-11 minute per mile pace for the entirety of the race) and as she left my side said, "America runs on Dunkins!".  Leave it up to her to make jokes LOL 

As mile 6 approached I began a sprint toward the finish and looked at my watch to estimate my final time - 1 hour 5 minutes!  While this time is pretty accurate, I still have to wait a day or two for the exact time to be posted to the run's website.  My time surpassed my expectations by 15 minutes!! This race has given me the added confidence that I need for the marathon and proven that whatever I put my mind to is possible!  Cheers to 2013!

 

Just keep running...

mimi Xo