The 5K

27:35!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I felt that deserved some exclamation points. This morning, I ran the 5K race I’ve been training for – and lamenting over – all summer. My friend Val told me not to worry about my time. She said the adrenaline of the race and running with all those people would make me run faster. Was she ever right! As I approached the finish line, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes – I was still in the 27 minute range!

I crossed the finish line at 27:35, beating my previous best time by almost two minutes!! I know I was only competing with myself, but boy, did I ever whoop my own ass!

The race was down on the waterfront trail in Burlington, which is a beautiful run. The weather was hot and humid, with a steady rain for most of the run. Actually, I think the rain really helped, because it kept me pretty cool.

Mike and the boys ventured down with me to cheer me on. He took them to the playground at Spencer Smith Park while I ran. They waved to me as I trotted by, and when I was running back, about to cross the finish line, they cheered me on. It was enough of a push to keep going – I didn’t want them to see me slow down!

I was, however, struggling, particularly toward the end of the run. I couldn’t figure out why it was so hard, since I’d been running 5K for a few weeks now. Once I saw my time, though, I figured it out! I was averaging about 32:30-ish on my 5Ks this summer – which means today, I was running faster than I’ve ever run in my life. Maybe I’m not as sluggish as I think. And maybe I can do this marathon thing after all.

I know there’s still a long road ahead of me. On Monday, it’s time for me to reevaluate my training and start moving toward the next goal. I still need to conquer nutrition, I need to settle on a new training schedule and I need to figure out what I’m going to do about the gym/YMCA conundrum.

But for today, I’m just going to bask in the glory of my “victory.” I had a goal (to run my best-ever 5K), and I achieved it. I’m going to have a nice supper, a glass of wine, and take this time to relax. There’s plenty of time to get back to training on Monday.

Happy trails…