5K - Check!!
What an experience!
My sister and I completed a 5K this Saturday in Fishers, IN. It was to benefit the Fishers High School Cross Country & Track Team. I had no idea what to expect (hadn't seen the course, no idea how many people were going to be there, hadn't really checked the weather).
It's fascinating going into an experience with no expectations.
(A HUGE thanks to our wonderful mother who watched the kiddos - and manned my camera! - while we ran! This would not have been possible without you, mom!)
The environment:
There were close to 200 runners.
The weather was COLD. (Around 23 degrees F.)
Bless the Cross Country & Track team members (and coaches and parents!) who went out at six a.m. that morning and shoveled as much as they could of the course.
Even with all of their hard work, around 80% of the course was through neighborhoods and streets almost completely covered with ice. I believe this was my first time ever of running on ice.
While most of the course was flat, there was one hill in the first mile and a fairly large incline towards the end. I'm glad I didn't know about that last one until I saw it.
The results:
Remember my comments that I was going to push this regardless of the weather or how I felt? My whole mental focus of this race was trying to beat a 10 minute / mile pace. I wasn't going to let a little ice or a couple of hills stop that.
My discipline was truly tested on the final hill. With probably 3/4 of a mile left, I was huffing and puffing up the hill. I had pushed the pace in the beginning and was now really feeling it.
About 1/3 of the way up, my legs decided they wanted to walk, so one foot plopped down in walk position. Thankfully, my mind knew I'd be rather pissed if that walk occurred. The result was kind of a little sideways stumble that made me look quite drunk...but I KEPT RUNNING. I remember even saying "NOPE" out loud and giggling a bit. That probably didn't help the whole drunk impression.
The final result?
An unhappy girl (she wasn't signed up to run and was quite upset. Note the t-shirt "dress"...I don't think she could have run in this even if she wanted to.)
It's the try that counts, and boy did he try....and had FUN!
The wonderful cross country team was out running with the kids - my niece (being the youngest and last of the crowd) got quite the escort through her race.
I ran the last two laps with our son, and our daughter joined us to cross the finish line.
*UPDATE: This post was written on Sunday. I'll update in the next post as to what REALLY happened this morning!**