I’m not dead yet!
Today I ran AND completed–thank you very much–my first race. I ran the Santa Monica Classic 5K/10K. I did the 5K.
First off, everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong; I over slept (both alarm clocks did not go off), I couldn’t find my shirt, the kids woke up, the batteries in both cameras were dead, I waited in a long line for parking only to find my permit was for the lot a mile away…and I had to walk back that mile to the start line. The race was to start at 7:30am, I got to the start line at 7:28, and was amazed by the crush of humanity for such a small race. I…uh, didn’t get the race was starting and watched all these people move forward. Some guy told me, “Yeah, that’s the 5Kers.” OH! That’s me! Where was the gun? I wanted a gun!!!
There was no way I was running with all those people around so I started walking. Once we got onto Main St. and the major group of Runners were gone, I started on a small jog. I guess I should mention at this point that I hadn’t run or walked in almost a month because of my knee. My relationship with the gym had dropped to something closer to a booty call. I had been smoking abut a pack and half a day. I also neglected to eat anything this morning becasue I thought that there’d be time to get something before. Oops. For a moment there, I thought I was just going to have to die. Then I saw the mile marker and beamed. That wasn’t too bad. I can do this!
As we turned left onto Colorado, we can see the mass of Runners hitting the finish line. Show-offs. I kept trudging up Ocean Blvd. mainly to get away from this couple running with their two dogs (WTF!?!). As I headed back down Ocean Blvd. we saw the leaders in the 10K coming up with a police escort. Ha! I thought, I’m going to finish the 5K before the 10K people show. Whoo-hoo!
I didn’t do too bad. I was finished around 8:20, so that means I walked/ran 3.2 miles in about 50 minutes. I was banking on completing the race in 1:30, so that was very good time for me. Not bad for an out-of-shape smoker with a bum ankle.
UPDATE: My time didn’t get posted. I didn’t know that the bottom of my race bib was used to scan my results. It looked like a receipt for the t-shirt I got in the mail and I didn’t need an extra t-shirt, so I removed it before I got out of the car. So, beyond my watch (49:53) there’s no record of me even running the race, short of my photos and my aching legs. Sniff. I’m pretty upset over this now.
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The I’m not dead yet! by faboo mama, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
May 4th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Congrats on finishing! Keep on running!
Hey check out Joels latest blog entry, Santa Monica Classic 10K In Pictures, at http://the17thman.typepad.com
May 4th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Alright!! Even with all those mis-steps at the start, you did it! Yay!
Hey check out Christinas latest blog entry, Move 2008 - week 18 update, at http://www.treesflowersbirds.wordpress.com
May 5th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Bravo! Bravo! Congrats on completing the 5k!LOL at the comment about the gym - from relationship to booty call :)Glad to hear you’re making progress with your knee
May 5th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Right on! Whoo hoo!
That’s pretty awesome.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Thanks to you all…I’m in so much pain right now it’s not even funny. When I got home and tried to get out of the car, my legs went all wobbly. Later in the day, I tried to take a nap. Laid there for almost an hour. When I got up, the pain hit and I’m shuffling around like a little old lady. Still, I’m trying to see if I can scrounge up $28 to be able to run the Brentwood 5K on May 25th.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Congratulations! Don’t worry about your official time…you did it and that is all that matters!! I hope you are feeling better?
Hey check out workout mommy’s latest blog entry, Cinco de Mayo fitness fiesta.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Congrats, fellow racer! :) Yay!
My team was out practicing that morning. We cheered some people who passed by while we were stretching at the Civic Center - I wish I had known to look for you!
Great job!
Have you found your next race yet?
May 9th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Ohhhh - I see now …. I missed your note about the upcoming Brentwood race. I have a feeling the funds will come in. This is a great thing you’re doing for yourself. Three Cheers for Fab!!