Plenty of sleep? Check.
Protein for breakfast? Check.
Mental determination? Double check.
I awoke this morning a little before 7am to get ready for my very first 5K run. A bit intimidated and unsure about how this experience would turn out, but I was most excited to see how far I've come in the last 13 months....
You see, I have never been athletic or into fitness...not really. I didn't regularly exercise until I was in college and graduate school. Even then, it wasn't something I made an absolute priority. I was more concerned with weight loss back then; it was my only motivation.
My whole life I have struggled with weight issues and so I have always associated exercise as a necessary 'evil' towards reaching the physical ideal. I would do some cardio to 'get it out of the way' and move on to the next thing on my 'to do' list. Exercise wasn't a mindful activity or something pleasant I looked forward to doing.
It wasn't until January 2010 that I made a stronger commitment...to that of fitness. While I still would like to lose weight (and have been/still am), I have learned these last 13 months that being healthy and having strong muscles is more important than what the numbers tell me when I step on a scale. I have learned so many things since I started going to a gym and working with a trainer....plyometrics (strength training), weight training, different kinds of dance, how to push myself a little harder each time so I'm always tricking my body/prevent from hitting a plateau, and the importance of stretching. And muscle weighs more than fat, don't forget! Pay attention to how your clothes feel as you lose inches of body fat, not water weight!
Sometimes I go running outside in my neighborhood or on the treadmills in the gym, but I've never done a race of any sort. I always thought that was just for 'real runners'.....which is why I was a bit nervous and intimidated about my first 5K today. And I ended up totally rocking it! Who knew!
I arrived early so that I could get a parking spot since I heard there were 3,000 people expected to be participating. With my fingers crossed for the sky to be rain and wind free, I walked onto the path of the lake searching for signs of the 'start' area. I didn't see any signs.
As I was listening to my ipod and holding a banana in my right hand, I saw out of the corner of my eye this pigtailed young woman wearing a blue Jingle Bell Run tshirt waving her hands at me. I pulled the headphones out of my ears and approached her. She saw that I was wearing a Valentine's Day Dash Love 'Em or Leave 'Em shirt and thought maybe I knew where we were supposed to go, but I didn't know either. We chatted briefly and heard from someone else that the registration area was at the boathouse, which was probably 1.5 miles away from where we were standing on Green Lake. It was 45 minutes before race time, so I leisurely walked as I ate my banana and headed towards the 'start' area. Fortunately, the weather was great....in the 40's and partly sunny, no wind.
15 minutes prior to start time, I was waiting in line for the women's restroom and this woman behind me started talking with me for a few minutes. She looked to be in her early 50's and mentioned this was her first race. "My daughter runs marathons, but she couldn't be here today because she has to take care of her 3 year old son." I told her it was my first race as well. She went on to tell me how she's been in a relationship that she's not sure whether to stay in or leave. "So this race is kinda symbolic for you?" I inquired. "Well, good luck!," I added.
"You too!" she said.
I've wondered how in races everyone can start at the same time when not everyone is near the starting line. I found out today. There were different mile markers of where to stand, depending on how fast you think you can run in minutes per mile. It started with 6-7 minutes and went all the way up to 13. I'm not a fast runner, so I went to the 13 minute marker. I honestly didn't care about being fast. Endurance was my main focus. For me, it was more important to run at a moderate pace and not get tired. I was determined to not walk AT ALL...and I didn't! (I usually have to stop and walk at some point when I'm running by myself)
What I liked about this race was that there were people of all ages and fitness levels. It took away the intimidation factor. I suddenly felt I belonged there, that I could do it successfully. And I did! I was in some kind of 'zone' and it felt amazing. I had my music going and it was as if time stopped...or either I felt no sense of time as I ran. It felt like I just started running and before I knew it, I was done (34:04...not bad for a first timer!). Didn't feel long at all, or even hard. It's true that 90% of it is mental. With that said, I can't wait for the next race.
Making fitness a lifestyle choice has had me reinvent myself in ways I could never fathom before, not to mention it's shown me how if you really set your mind to accomplishing something you CAN do it!!!
