November 22, 2012
First 5k - Edison Park Turkey Trot
Chicago, IL
Time 35:23
I wasn't up to a full 3.1 miles in my training but I was close. I ran 2.75 (with brief stoppage) on Tuesday after work. I love running in the dark! And the cold! I was amazed how running this far was becoming no big deal. My breathing was under control. I finally learned that cramping can be caused by not getting air into the lower lung and/or eating the wrong thing before a run. I seem to cramp up when I eat nuts prior to a run.
The night before I went out for sushi with Bekki and a few others. I stayed away from the fried but I still stuffed myself. I had pieces of rice in my mouth when I woke up the next morning. I didn't sleep well. I didn't have high expectations for the outcome of this race. I was up at 7am, drank a cup of coffee right away, ate an orange and 2 of my homemade pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip spice cookies with whole wheat flour and REAL pumpkin puree. It was more like a health bite than a cookie.
I found a parking spot on a side street and followed the sea of red long sleeve Turkey Trot shirts walking towards the start line. I fould the port-o-potty line and jumped in with 17 minutes to spare. Holy crap a lot of people were there. I think the announcer dude said there was 5000!
I couldn't even find where I was supposed to line up. It was too crowded. I ran into another person trying to get past the walkers to the front with the runners. She led a path through the packed crowd. 3,2,1 go. yeah, right. it took 3 minutes to get to the start line. paying attention to the time on timer when you cross the start line is very important. Well, maybe not. I had the GPS man inside my Nike Plus app reporting my progress.
The start line snuck up on me. "OK, here we go." And I went. I kept a good pace. My breathing was under control. I was actually running past people. Wow! People with strollers and dogs should not be allowed to run. And if you stop to walk, get the F over to the side. Even worse are the people who have to stop with 5 friends and form a wall of people that you cant get around. I hope this isn't normal of these events. I think I stepped on a few morons, I mean people, along the way. That's the breaks.
I know it's not a marathon or anything and the whole deal is pretty much over in a half hour but a little cheering on would be nice. These people just come out of their homes to stare and leave the cheerings on to the folks of the Special Olympics (the race benefited these folks). There was a few points of interest and excited cheerers along the way though including some sparkly sequined out grandma in a wheel chair and a band of teens playing music dressed in Thanksgiving garb (picture turkey and pilgrim costumes).
I decided to give myself a rest at two miles. TWO MILES! I RAN FOR TWO MILES without stopping! I couldn't believe it. I walked for 1/4 mile and kept going to the end. The Nike man and the finish line didn't sync up so maybe I did run a total of 3.1 miles.
I got some of the free food and drink offered. They didn't have a water stop along the way. I practically pushed people out of my way to get to something to drink. Some bitch who didn't even run jumped in front of my to get free food. Really? I gobbled down a half banana,a cookie and some Gatorade. Then I got a coffee and just sat there wondering if this was real. Again, I cant believe I just ran a 5k, practically all the way through.
A woman from Fleet Feet Sports handed my a flyer as I sat on a curb drinking my coffee. She commented on my cool socks. I told her about my deal that I was going to always run in fun socks. She said I should start a blog about it. So here I am.
One more thing: The day couldn't have been more brilliant. The sun was shining. It was about 55 degrees and there was very little wind along the course. I have another 5k on December 1st. I hope it goes as well as this one.
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