post race let down

So I ran/walked the 5k. :) And it was different from how I pictured it. Leading up to the race, I let a bad couple of days turn into a bad week and a half. I knew I wasn't ready to run all of it-- I had mustered up enough to run a mile without stopping to walk followed by another mile with intermittent walking. Anyway, going in, I knew I couldn't run the entire 5k.

I was nervous about how different it would be running with other people. Usually when I work out, it's me and lenny the ipod. I didn't take lenny on the 5k because my friend Laura was there. She's a community sort of runner (meaning she prefers to run with a partner.)

When the race started, I was caught off guard. It was cold, dreary and a little drizzly. There was no gunshot or anything, just all of a sudden people were running so we started to run, too. And it turns out those other people run a heck of a lot faster than I do on my own.

Laura was awesome through it. She was encouraging and willing to go at my pace. She walked when I said I needed to walk. She was the right amount of chatty. She was the perfect running partner.

But I let having a running partner get to me. She is in way better shape than I am and most of the run, I was very aware of holding her back. At the beginning, I ran faster and further than I wanted and then had to compensate for the rest of the run by feeling too winded too early. Not having music and not knowing the route made it harder for me, too. I had no idea how far we'd gone or how many minutes we'd spent running.

At the gym, I've been running about a 14 minute mile. I know that's not super speedy by any means but for going from nothing to trying to run, I will own my 14 minutes. This 5k last Saturday was over in 45:20. Considering I think we walked about 1/3 of it, I feel like we ran faster and walked faster than I would have on my own. That's not a bad thing. It was good to be pushed.

The run was for a good cause. I don't think I hyped Katie's Crusaders enough. I'll find the link to her site in a bit and explain it in a later blog. That part was hugely touching.

So yeah. The run was good, just different from how I'd pictured it in my head. It was a good practice 5k. I'm going to shoot for another one and work harder, running outside so I can get used to how different it feels to run without climate control.

This week, though, I'm a slacker. I'm taking it easy and trying to focus on setting some new goals.

Coincidentally, I just sort of feel blah about everything. This whole "now what?" feeling has sunk in and the newness of a different job, house, community and life is not really as charming anymore. It could just be that I'm in a funk tonight. That's probably it. I'll see if a day or two makes a difference.