Well I learned a couple of things today.
1. My perfectionism is worse than I thought. I never thought I would win this race. I never wanted to. All I wanted to do was run the entire thing, and finish with a decent time. But when the nerves and adrenaline caused me to run the first mile a little bit too quickly, I about died in the middle of the race. From then on I had to alternate running and walking. That was one major disappointment.
2. Despite my months of training, I was somehow ill-prepared for 5K's on a wet golf course at 8:00 in the morning. I finished toward the back of the pack with the old laides and pregnant women. (Some of whom actually finished ahead of me. Like the one in the picture below, who not only ran faster than me, but pushed her stroller the whole way. I know I shouldn't hate anyone, but please! Does she have to make the rest of us look that bad!?!?)
3. On a happier note, I wasn't totally alone. My good friends Marvin & Angie were waiting when I crossed the finish line. I felt loved at least to have someone who was willing to come out and support me in this crazy decision.
4. Running is quickly becoming an addicton for me. Now that I've earned my first race shirt, I'm actually stupid enough to be considering how quickly I could potentially enter another race and earn another shirt. (Plus I'm a little desperate to erase this disappointing finish from my mind. They haven't posted the official times yet, but based on my watch, I'm not really thrilled with myself. I'm eager to try and make up for that.) 
3 comments:
Great work Cali! You should be very proud of yourself!
I am so proud of you!!!! It will only get better too. That's the best thing about running these kind of races, it's mainly just to do better than you did last time. Because unless you are an elite racer that does this for a living there are always people that are faster, fitter, stronger, ect. But seeing a difference from one race to the next is a great personal motivator. And that's what makes it fun!
Cali, way to go! I think finishing is a great accomplishment. I usually always finish last, so don't beat yourself up too much. I'm in the middle of training for a triathlon this September. I have days that I absoulutely think I'm nuts. I've always wanted to do one and I really don't care where I come in race, just as long as I can finish.
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