So James and I left really early, and again, he was a great sport about it!
We get there, and it was COLD! There I am in my shorts and t shirt freezing cold! It was windy, and the sun was barely out! Brrrr!
The first thing I had to do was go to the registration counter and exchange my shirt. Thankfully they let me switch my large for a medium, and it fit much, much better! Needing a smaller size is always a good thing! After that I had to go pick up my "time chip", which was actually some weird plastic thing I had to tie to my shoelaces. It apparently kept track of my time according to my number somehow. They took it off my shoe as soon as the race was done.
Anyway, my race didn't start until 8:45, so we were stuck waiting in the cold wind for almost 2 hours! We tried to make the best of it. We watched the presentations, watched some ladies do jazzercise, and pretty much froze our butts off. Finally it was time (or so we thought)!
We walked over to the start/finish line. The 1 mile people went first, so we were stuck waiting some more! Finally some 1 milers started crossing the finish line, so the 5Kers crowded in the street. As we were waiting, I looked around at all the 5K runners, and you know what? I actually felt like I belonged. I didn't look out of place, I didn't look out of shape, no one would look at me and think, "What on Earth is that girl doing trying to run a 5K?"... I actually fit in with all the runners, and that was an amazing realization! We waited and waited and waited for the last of the 1 milers.
When they finally all finished, they blew the horn, and we were off!
It was the most amazing thing! People were lined all along the streets blowing horns, whistling, yelling, and cheering us on! I felt like such a rockstar! It was the greatest feeling to be part of it all. They were cheering for me, too!
The trail we ran was beautiful! I couldn't have asked for anything nicer! We ran along a river, and there were no hills! Much better than the hilly neighborhood streets I usually run!
I was getting pretty frustrated to see people passing me, but I never stopped. Not even once. I ran the whole thing, and it was nice to run past people that had not too long ago passed me, because they had to stop to walk!
There were people giving out water in small dixie cups, but I wouldn't even stop for that. I was bound and determined to do the best I could.
I went into it hoping to finish it in 36/37 minutes. I had only run a full 5K once before, and it took me 37:29.
As I was running, I would check my Nike+ for my pace every now and then. I knew I was going a bit faster than usual, so I had changed my goal to 35 minutes.
Finally... finally I could see the finish! It was a way off, but I could see it! Again, I could hear all the horns, whistles and cheers! It was at that moment when it all hit me. As I got closer and closer, and heard the cheers getting louder and louder, I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I had actually done it! Then as I approached, I could hear James in my head saying, "Finish strong!", so I picked up the speed.
I looked over, and I saw him at the finish line. I saw him jump when he saw me, and I saw the huge smile on his face. I could clearly see just how proud he was, and that was it. A few tears fell.
Then a few more fell when I saw the time I finished in...
32:00!!!!!!!!
Way faster than I had anticipated!!!!!!
I can't even begin to describe how good all of it felt! I blew my old time out of the water, and James was more proud of me than I had ever seen. People were screaming and cheering, and I was on top of the world!
James rushed over to me and hugged me. I shed a few more tears. A guy I made small talk with while waiting saw me and asked if I was ok... Was I ok?! I had never been better!
This was the most amazing day of my life, and I am definitely hooked. I can't even put into words all of the emotions I felt!