My parents, as well as the rain, came out to support me. I give the Half-Marathon runners a ton of credit because they all got poured on (my "runner's high" isn't yet immune to such weather conditions). Luckily, the rain tapered off by the time we lined up. I soon realized that all running levels were apparent within the 5K group--this eased my nerves and my "nervous pee" (my urban dictionary definition: the urge to pee, caused from feeling nervous and anxious before an important athletic event). Once the race began, it was energizing to have everyone around you. I went through phases of "I feel great" to "Ow, my aching calves". When I hit the 2 mile marker, it fueled my motivation to keep chuggin' along. I felt like an Iron (wo)Man.
My parents were hooting and hollering near the finish line--this is what they captured during their fury of picture taking. My first thought after seeing this picture: holy brightness, I was easy to spot; and my second thought: everyone was right, my shoes do look funny.
It felt great to hit the finish line. I ran it in 28 minutes! I came in 18th out of 84 in my age group, and 172nd out of 604 overall. Not too shabby for my first race--maybe I'll run the Half Marathon next year (or that just may be my "runner's high" talking).
Every sport I have ever played was team-orientated; every victory or defeat was shared amongst other teammates. I have never participated in a solo athletic event where I can appreciate total personal achievement. I pushed outside my comfort zone to accomplish a task that would have been too physically and mentally challenging a year ago. I feel fantastic.
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