my first 5K, plus some things I learned

This is the tale of my first 5K and the truths I've learned.

Rewind to Saturday. I got up early and went to pick up one of the teenagers from my church who was running the race. We hung around in Oxford waiting for the start. I was so excited...seriously, I told someone yesterday that I used to get so pumped for Christmas up until I learned a little secret about a certain jolly fat man...then it was just another (yet still very special) day. However, Friday night I was struggling to fall asleep...just like I used to back in my Ninja Turtle collecting days. Saturday morning I woke up at 6, much like I would have 15 years ago, hyper and ready.

Back to Oxford...As I waited, I went to the restroom and inside I ran into a guy I went to high school with. He was a runner, too, back then (as was I for about 2 years. But I was terrible. More on that at a later time...) and was going to try his hand at it again. He and his girlfriend were just as excited as Shelby and I were. Eventually we were ready to begin. The announcer told us to go and approximately 300 bodies took off.

It was here, after my legs started moving, that I realized a few key points to a successful run. Some of them I was prepared for, but most of them I wasn't.

1.) Find a route to move forward.
As we started running, the crowd formed a huge cluster, making it impossible to do anything other than run in place...therefore wasting precious energy. I had to eventually run off the course and get around some of the walkers/slowpokes.

2.) Chew gum.
I drank tons of water last week, trying to get my body regulated and properly hydrated. Friday and Saturday morning I was downing bottles of water. Hitting up water fountains. Then, about a mile into the run, I got the worst drymouth. The cold air was blowing in my face and I couldn't do much about it. I was stuck with a dry palate. However, many people have since told me to chew gum. It keeps you from breathing so much from your mouth, and at the same time you are developing saliva. Educational, I know.

3.) Drafting is real!
I just think that this is really cool. I drafted off a few bigger people before zooming past them. It made me feel awesome.

4.) Check your shoelaces.
This is a common sense one. But it's so "common sense" that I forgot to even do it. I made sure I stretched and hydrated but failed to check my double-knots. About 2K into the race I noticed my shoelace on my left foot was flopping. I tried to ignore it but I felt like I would trip and eat pavement at any second. So I stopped, wasting precious seconds, and also lost my pace. I never could regain it.

5.) Train on hills.
Usually I train on hills and offbeat paths, but the hills I incurred in Oxford were pretty steep. Steeper than I was used to, anyway. So my time really suffered, as did my legs. I had to walk a lot more than I usually do when practicing.

My final time was 35:47, which I suppose for a first timer isn't all that bad. However, that's slow compared to my practices I do on my own. I just wasn't totally prepared.

But I hope to rectify that soon. I have signed up for another 5K in Germantown on March 21. I don't know what the course is like exactly but I have 19 days to get ready for it. Also, April 17 I will run the Holly Springs Pilgrimage 5K and the next weekend, April 24, I will do the Double Decker 5K in Oxford.

For races you'd like to check out, go to http://www.racesonline.com. If you'd like information on the Couch-to-5K program that I used, go to http://www.coolrunning.com.

Until next time!