Race-iversary

A year ago in February I decided to sign up for a 5K.

I trained for a month and progressed from barely being able to run one slow mile to running the 5K.

I ran the Shamrock Shuffle in 31:52.  I was so proud of myself.

After that race I was hooked on running and have been running ever since.

This year I signed up for the shuffle again.  My goal was to run it 4 minutes faster, 27:55.

In November I ran a turkey trot 5K and ran it in 27:55.  Again, I was so proud of myself for shaving off that time since my previous 5K.  But then I found out the course was 1/10th of a mile short.  Not a huge deal, but I really wanted this 5K to be 27:55 for the full 3.18 miles.

I trained all winter, doing sprints and cross training and keeping my miles up.  But I was discouraged. When I ran my sprints on the treadmill I still felt slow.  I was never going faster than 7.2 miles per hour, and that was only for 400 meters, and I always wanted to die after.  I needed to go even fast than that to beat the 27:55 that I had planned to do.

The week leading up to the race I was nervous.  I was anxious.  And I was prepared to be really upset with myself because I just did not feel like 27:55 was obtainable.  But race day came and I tried to stay positive and upbeat, despite the cold weather and my nerves.  

The race started and I felt myself take off too hard and too fast.  But I tried not to slow down too much.  "Just keep running, you need to be slightly uncomfortable to meet your goal," I told myself.

It was hard.  I pushed myself.  

I was being passed by old men, children, and people pushing strollers left and right.

What the actual fuck.

Here I was working as hard as I could, feeling the burn in my legs, and fucking 80 year olds were passing me?

Not.cool.

I kept on though, knowing I was doing my personal best, and just hoping against all odds that I was going to finish in 27:55.

I rounded the last bend and saw Mr. G near the finish line.  I sprinted.  I heard "Go Shauni!" and smiled.  And then I saw the clock under the finish line and was so relieved.

26:40.

26:40!

That is an 8:34 pace.

I cannot explain how proud of myself I am.  Never in the last year did I ever think I could run a 5K in anything less than 27 minutes.  I would read blogs and stories about people running their 5Ks in 26:XX and felt sorry for myself--"I will never be able to do that.  Those gals are fast!"  Not only did I blow my PR goal out of the water, but I blew it out of the water by over a minute. 

I feel like a real runner now. 

Thanks for listening,

Granny