(Okay, so this wasn’t technically my first 5k. I did a Color Run about a year and a half
ago, but since I walked it, spent a bunch of extra time at the “color stations”
and they don’t even keep time, it doesn’t really count. )
I ran my first 5k on Saturday, and it was so awesome that I
decided to share my experience with you!
As far as time goes, all I can really say is that while my time was “awful”
by most runners’ standards, for me, it was pretty good! I finished in about 46 minutes, with an
average pace of just below 15min/mile.
While my time wasn’t the best, the experience of running my first 5k was
awesome! Here are the highlights:
I kept a decent pace!
Life’s been a bit crazy lately, so I wasn’t really “training”
for this race, and I haven’t run even remotely consistently since about
May. Since then, I’ve run/exercised only
a few times a month at best. When I
first started running, I was between a 14-15 minute mile pace, even when
running short distances less than a mile.
So be able to keep up that pace even over a 5k route was pretty
exciting!
Everyone has to start
somewhere!
I was strangely nervous before this race, despite the fact
that I had no intention of trying to win and no “personal best” to try to
beat. Having never run a 5k before, I was
anxious about whether or not to eat the morning of the race, and if so, how
much. I was self conscious about having
never attached one of those shoe tag thingy’s to my shoes before and whether
people would be able to see that I was struggling with putting it on. Not only did I get all of those “firsts” out
of the way for next time, but I also now have a time to beat for my next 5k!
 |
| We did both manage to get our shoe tags on eventually! |
Motivation!
I feel like most people are motivated leading up to a 5k,
10k, etc. because they are trying to train to get ready for it. Well, I really didn’t have the time to put
into it, and wasn’t trying to beat a time, so I wasn’t really motivated to
prepare for the race. After the fact,
however, was a completely different story!
Despite the fact that I was up fairly late Friday night and up early for
Saturday’s race, I felt absolutely FANTASTIC on Saturday, even with a bit less
caffeine than usual! So fantastic in
fact, that I decided to think about running in the mornings before work. (For those of you who don’t know, I am NOT a
morning person.) So I stopped by my
local running store last night and bought some reflective armband things so I
don’t get hit by a car, and this morning I actually went for a 1 mile run! It was even raining and I still did it!
So here is my advice to you:
if you have never run a 5k before, and you get the opportunity, do
it! Even if you have not trained or
prepared, it will be worth it! Go at a
pace you are comfortable with, you are still faster than the people on the
couch!
