All week I've been fighting some sort of weird cold thing. I've been exhausted, stuffy and my head feels like it's about 3x bigger than normal. So I hadn't worked out in exactly one week when the time for my 5K came around yesterday.
I went back and forth and back and forth on if I should even go or not. The thought of waking up at 5am to drive 45 minutes to crown center then stand in the freezing cold for an hour then to try to huff and puff my way through 3.2 miles didn't sound all that exciting. But, once I hit packet pickup on Friday, I knew I had to go. There's something that gets me every time I go pick up my race day t-shirt and 'champion chip'. I knew I had to do it.
So I went to bed early and got up at the crack of dawn to make the trip to Crown Center. I love the atmosphere before a race. All the excitement and the fact that there are thousands of other 'crazies' like me who love the thrill of race day and will work so hard just to get there. It gets me really pumped up. The music, the crowds, the focus on everyone's faces. I LOVE IT. I think that's why I keep going back and keep training to get better and go further. I want to be one of those 'awesome' runners.
I felt pretty lame doing a measly 5K at the KC MARATHON, I won't lie. I wish I would have been more focused this summer and been able to attempt the half, but I wasn't. I was just worried about finishing my 3 miles.
The Marathon and Half Marathon kicked off at 7am. So after sending them off, I had a good half hour to try to stay warm and loose before my race started. I did some stretches, some fast walking and a lot of jumping. I was pretty pumped for the race.
It was a good course. Pretty flat, not a lot of uphills but a good amount of downhills. I've gotten much better at pacing myself. I've also learned how to 'coast' the downhills. I felt awesome the whole race, even with my tight chest due to my cold.
The downtown race went from crown center, down grand to 17th street. East on 17th to the Paseo. North on the Paseo to 18th Street and we headed west back to Grand. North on Grand to 13th street then south on Main and a few quick turns to end at the Freighthouse.
Here are my stats:
Time: 29:40
Pace: 9:33
Overall 422/1169
Division (Female 25-29) 60/173
Females: 169/731
So not super awesome, but definitely not bad at all considering how I felt. I was pretty happy with the results.
After the run, I got my 'champion chip' cut off, went through the food and drink line then hiked it from the Freighhouse back to my car at crown center. Nothing like a long hike after an exausting race!
Getting back home was a total nightmare. Every single road I tried was closed for the marathon. I think it took about an hour and a half to get home.
But it was worth it.
Next up: Jingle Bell Run 2008 - 10K baby!
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