See, what had happened was!!!!! LOL!
So, I was in Atlanta to run my first 5k and I was ready. The atmosphere was exhilarating and I was pumped. There were so many BGR women and supporters, you couldn't help but feel the love. And after a weekend filled with shopping, eating, mingling and many BGR! socials, the race was an end cap to a great fun-filled trip.
I arrived at the race @ 6:30am, only to make numerous phone calls to other Charlotte BGR friends so that I didn't have to at least start the race alone. Once I found them, we were all excited and ready to go! Being among thousands of women, and a few men, all there for the same reason was truly amazing. So, after taking numerous before photos, chatting etc... they were ready to start the race. =)
The race started @ 7:30am and we were off. Myself and four other BGR Charlotte ladies started running together. We were running smoothly for the first 20 yards, but then there were obstacles. I found myself bobbing and weaving through numerous walkers, which was no easy task. After dodging @ 50 of the walkers, and stumbling numerous times, I thought to myself "Why don't these darn walkers walk to the right!!!". I mean that's common courtesy! Let us runners through! Five minutes into the race, because of these obstacles, I lost my running buddies. No big deal, I run a lot alone and I was on my own mission.
So @ two miles into the race came the break-off point between the 5k and 10k runners. Apparently, there were people shouting directions, which I couldn't hear because of my headphones. There was supposedly also a sign with arrows pointing direction for the runners, which I didn't see because of the hundreds of people in front of me and the sign not posted more than 5 feet in the air. All I heard someone say was "5k" and when I looked up, I saw a gentlemen pointing left which I assumed was for the 5k runners. But I would soon find out that the person who yelled out "5k" wasn't the same person who was pointing!!
OK, so the left turn I made was an immediate hill!! I thought then, OK this is one of a couple of hills we were warned of by the Atlanta BGR ladies. No biggie, I take hills training! On the hill, I looked at my GPS tracking system and it said that I only had 1 mile left and I was happy. So I just kept running. And a mile and half later my GPS tracker announcer came on saying that I had been running for 35 minutes. What!! I immediately knew something was wrong because I would have been finished by then. I looked down at my phone and saw that I was at 3.6 miles. What! First, I thought maybe the distance is a little over 3.1 miles because when I run with my regular groups we always run more distance then we thought we were, so I just kept running. However, when I finally was becoming fatigued and saw the 4 mile marker a few feet ahead, I started talking. I turned to the lady next to me an said "This is the longest 5k I have ever done!" She started laughing and said "Girl, this is the 10K. You missed the break-off point almost two miles back." OMG! I started to panic, and I'm not sure why. I should have known something was wrong when I didn't see anybody I knew on the route. But I knew I wasn't turning around, Oh no, I was too far into this 10K. There was nothing else for me to do but finish. The Atlanta BGR ladies who were running around me were encouraging me, saying that I could do it, and it was meant to be etc... However, at that moment, I wasn't trying to hear all that, I was just in shock. But I eventually sucked it up and continued and their words kept me going. Let's keep in mind that I didn't train for the 10k, and I was not prepared. I think I stopped and walked a total of 3 times along the way, but the walking stops were no more than 30 seconds long. However, I did slow my pace down dramatically to adjust to the additional distance and hills.
At the 5 mile marker I received a phone call from my traveling buddy, who also ran the 10k, wondering where I was. Heck, I was supposed to be at the finish line already cheering her in, but I guess when she finished her 10k in 1 hour 9 minutes and I was no where to be found, she got worried. And YES, I answered the phone.. LOL! We couldn't do anything but laugh at the mishap. So after hanging up, tackling over 8 hills that I actually counted on the 10k route and one being a monster hill at the very end, I was finally rounding the corner into Atlantic Station towards the finish line. I was met by my traveling running buddy who sprinted me all the way to the finish line.
I was exhausted!! I had pushed my body to a distance it had never been, and wasn't ready to go to, but I was OK. And even though my time was 1 hour 21 minutes, I felt it was good enough for someone who wasn't even mentally or physically ready to run a 10k. I had originally signed up for the 10k but after not preparing my body, I changed it to the 5k about a month before the race. But I can now say that I ran a 10K and I feel great about that!
So what's next for me? First, I need to run a 5k to get it under my belt. Then I need to train for a 10k and improve on my time. I'm just competitive like that. Next year I will be doing a Triathlon and who knows maybe a half marathon is in my future.....
This experience has been great and it has been a pleasure to share my journey with everyone. From the couch to 5k program to my first 5k oops I meant 10k race, it has all been worth it. I'm just going to continue being healthy, become even more fit and encourage others to do the same. I already have several of my friends doing runs in Charlotte and in other states and I will continue to recruit so we can battle and win this war against obesity.
Stay Strong and Fit Ladies!!!!
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