Fat Chick Walked/Ran the 5K Today!

I loved the story of Mindy's run in Boulder earlier this summer. That was some seriously awesome writing. I'm jealous. There's a secret part of me that thinks she could be a writer, I mean get paid to do it professionally, but I keep reading things that are a ton better than what I can do, between blogging and books, so I never go anywhere with it. I think I'll just stick to the reading and blogging.

But I digress. Here's the post I put on my personal health blog about my first 5K race experience:

It was a bright, chilly morning in Cokeville today. Someone said it was a little over 40 degrees, better than freezing, but still. Sue got me up at 5:30 am to head over to the park. On the way there, I was excited, thinking about the awesome feat I was going to accomplish today, doing a 5K and attempting to run part of it. A great thing, you know, for a fat chick. But I wasn't worried about whether or not I could finish, I mean I've been working out for a month, I just envisioned the feeling of success at the finish line. I'm just glad no one at registration was bold enough to enquire about my general health.

But as we headed up the canyon in Sue's friend's car, and the road just kept going and going, I thought, "Holy Cow, 3 miles is a long way!" At the top, standing around waiting for the race to start, I felt very conspicuous. I had to have been the heaviest person there. And not just that, I was the only one dorky enough to have a big camera strapped to me like a fanny pack. But since I knew it wasn't about racing, and just about finishing, I'd decided the night before to take my camera on the run.

Sue stretching out before the race.

Sue's friends, Becca and (Sue, fill in the blank, I'm horrible with names.)

Me and Sue, psyched and ready to go. It wasn't long into the race before I took off that sweatshirt, and tied it around my waist.

The race started right at 7:00am with a pistol shot. It only took about 10 seconds, maybe 20, for me to get left in the dust. Almost the entire rest of the way, the only people behind me were two walking moms with a stroller, and the 5-months-pregnant lady. I started off with a little jog, and it wasn't long before I started walking. As I was being passed, I could here someone say, "She's not even running." Yeah, shut up.

Just a little ways down the road, when almost everyone was still in a pack, these horses ran up to the gate to watch all the people pass.

It was so beautiful out there, with the sun coming up and the wonderful fresh air. If you're a runner, you want to live in Cokeville during the summer.

A small reminder that we are in ranch country.

I'd settled into a pace, where I would walk for a 20-count, then jog for a 20-count, gripping the tied sleeves of my sweatshirt to keep myself anchored. That count got longer, and longer, but when I rounded a corner, and saw this big house we'd passed on the way up, I knew I was getting closer.

It was a great feeling coming out of the canyon, and seeing the Flying J gas station. It couldn't have been much longer, about a mile or less, to the finish line. This was about the point where the "stroller chicks," as I came to think of them, were coming up on my heels, and I really wanted to beat them to the finish line. Sue met me at the corner of Main Street and the highway, where the cops were blocking traffic for the runners. It was great to see her. I eventually got passed by the stroller chicks, dang it, but I was determined not to get beat by the pregnant lady. I could hear her jogging behind me, and it occurred to me later that I cut a corner as I rounded the last bend before the finish line, because I was following Sue, who ran ahead to take my picture. I wonder if the pregnant lady was cussing at me. Oops!

Everyone clapped for me coming in to the finish line. It was great, although I bet they were thinking, "Man, I'm glad that's just about the last person, I'm ready for this to be done!"

Yey for me! My time was 47:56, which I thought was really good. I have short stubby legs, and I can rarely walk a 20-minute mile, so I know the jogging today helped my time. In total, I probably jogged about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way. Sue did really awesome with 28 minutes and change, meeting her goal of coming in under 30 minutes.

Me & Sue. Awesome!!

Our kids got up earlier than usual and met us just down the road from the park. Lily was after some donuts from the store. It wound up being closed, so later Zen took them down to the Flying J gas station to get them all sugared up. Thanks, sweetie.

It was good to see their sweet, crusty morning faces.

After the race, I just kept thinking, "Man, I gotta run more so I can run the whole 5K at Thanksgiving Point in October!" I ought to be 20 pounds lighter by then, and have broken 200 (oh, that is going to feel so good!!!), so I think it will be a good race. Sue, are you going to do the 10K?