First 5K is in the books!  I didn't do quite as well as I had hoped, but I guess it wasn't too bad. 

Yesterday morning I got up a little early so I could pack my bag before leaving for work.  I packed up all my clothes, shoes, socks, etc.. and made sure I had my GU and my BLOKs.  For those who are not familiar, GU and BLOKs are forms of quick energy boosts.  I think they are both some mixture of vitamins, glucose (from rice), and other stuff.  GU is kind of a paste and BLOKs are like fruit chews.  I usually like the BLOKs before exercising and GU if I take it during.  The drawback with GU is that you have to take it with water or you can't swallow the stuff, and BLOKs are like carrying big, sticky gummy bears which are hard to handle while you are moving.  Anyway, I wasn't planning on needing to refuel during the race, but since I am on a diet, I thought a shot just before would be good.

For lunch I had a salad with some chicken breast and some crackers. ***MISTAKE NUMBER 1***.  Even though I have turned into a couch potato, it wasn't always like that.  I used to play football, volleyball, rugby, soccer.  I even did a short stint on the Cross Country team in Junior High.  So I knew better.  Salad with chicken provided my absolutely nothing I needed before a race.  Protein and fiber are not good pre-race food, at least for me.  But I have been caught up in this weight loss thing and neglected to THINK.  Somehow I thought the 160 calories from the BLOKs would fuel me sufficiently to expend as much energy as I could for 40 minutes...WRONG!  To make things worse, all I had for breakfast was yogurt and I skipped dinner the night before.

When I got to work, I got my one cup of coffee for the day.  Hey, I can't function without coffee in the morning.  And I started drinking water.  I have been drinking a lot of water anyway, but I drank a little more yesterday.  ***MISTAKE NUMBER 2***.  About 10 minutes before the start, I really had to pee.  And of course, there was about a 15 minute line for the porta-potties.  If there wasn't been 500 people there, I would have found a tree, but there was no convenient place, so I just held it.  "Once I get going I will forget about it..."  WRONG!  That was ALL I thought about the whole time.  I did distract me a little from the feeling that my knee-caps were going to pop off, but if you have every tried to concentrate on anything, like breathing, when you have to pee... you can understand how miserable it was.

About 4:00 I starting winding stuff down at work and getting ready.  I stretched a little, pinned my number on my shirt, put my shorts, got some water, walked around the halls a little (since my butt hadn't left my chair in several hours), re-pinned my number on my shirt, got some more water.  I was a little nervous.  I don't know why, it wasn't like I was actually competing for anything.  I knew I would make it through the run, sooner or later.  My goal was 40 minutes, but really any time before they started packing up the tents would have been fine.

At 4:30, I gathered all my stuff and and headed over to the race.  The race didn't start until 5:30 but I needed to get a good parking place because Abbie also had a softball game at 5:30 and I was planning on leaving right after the run to catch the end of her game.  I also wanted some time to stretch and warm up.  When I arrived, I eat my BLOKs and drank some more water, stretched, and jogged around a bit.  I felt pretty good.  My joints didn't hurt and my calf felt normal.  I wasn't tired and felt like I had pretty good energy (recall the BLOK I just ate).

Just before 5:30, I met up with some people I knew and we made our way towards the back of the pack behind the start line.  We were probably about 200 feet back from the start line.  This race didn't have those little timing thingy's that some races have, so everyone started at the same time even though it took about a minute for the back of the pack to make it through the narrow, inflatable starting line.  Not that it was a big deal to me, I just wanted to finish.  At 5:30 the "gun" went off.  Actually, it was some anemic sounding horn that I could barely hear.  All of us "back-row" racers, started walking toward the start line as everyone herded through the opening.  When I hit the line, I started my watch and started trotting.  A friend of mine was next to me and we stayed together for about 1/2 a mile and talked a little (while I could still breath).  I was feeling pretty good, not really breathing that heavy and no pain...yet. My plan was to run 1/2 a mile, then walk 30 seconds, run 1/2 a mile, then walk, etc... So at the half mile I started walking and my friend continued on.  I did my 30 seconds of walking, then started running again.  "Left, Right, Left, Right.....", "Trot, Trot, Trot....", "Boy, do I have to pee".  Starting to breath a little heavier now and I am aware of my ankles and knees.  The don't hurt, but they are definitely letting me know that they are there.

At the one mile point, or what I thought was the one mile point, I walked again.  Ok, breathing pretty hard now.  I had reverted to breathing every step.  So I got my breathing under control and looked up and saw the timer about 200 yards ahead of me.  "That's odd", I thought, Why wouldn't they put that at the one mile mark.  Well...they did.  My measurement on Google Earth was apparently short.  (I seem to be having a problem with that lately).  When I got the the ACTUAL one mile point, my time was 11:21.  Not too bad.  Keep this up and I will make my goal.  So, I started trotting again.  I could definitely detect a little pain in my ankles and my feet were getting warm.  And let's not forget, I still had to pee.  I passed on the water station ***MISTAKE NUMBER 3***.  Even if you don't want to drink water (which you should), getting a mouthful and spitting it out helps, especially us mouth breathers.

Since my pre-race measurements were obviously WAY off, I switched to time.  I was going to run 3 minutes then walk 30 seconds.  Well, I didn't even make it one minute.  You see, I was on a hill.  Not a big hill mind you, but a hill none the less.  Neither the greenway that I had run on or my treadmill have hills.  One would not think that it would make that much of a difference, but apparently it does, because I was out of gas.  My BLOKs were gone...my salad burned up.  I was really regretting my lack of nutritional planning at this point, and... I STILL HAVE TO PEE.

So, now I am in survival mode.  Running/walking at the best ratio I can muster.  I am trying to stay ahead of the 60 year behind me, and keep up with the two girls in front of me.  The next two and a half mile were torture.  I do not remember seeing anymore timers, or water stations, or anything.  My joints are really singing now, my feet are on fire, I am starting to get a headache, my mouth is dry...and yes, I still have to pee.  The only good thing was it was pretty cool out.  If it had been warm, I probably would have passed out.

When I made it to the final half mile which was this winding path fashioned into something resembling DNA (Double Helix Dash, remember), there goes granny passing me.  Oh, SNAP, NO SHE DIDN'T!!  I told myself as soon as I see the finish line, I am going to run as hard as I can.  Granny is not going to beat me!  We made the last turn and started up the hill to the finish line and I took off like the wind.  Ok, it was more like a weak breeze. BUT, I did passed granny and even the two girls I had been following.  As I approached the finish line, I noticed that I was getting light headed and my vision was starting to narrow a little,  Oh SHIT, I am about to pass out!!  I slowed just a little and managed to make it to the finish line and get into the cattle guides that narrowed the finishers down to a single line.

Well, a few of my friends that had finished before me were at the the finish line cheering me one.  Don't remember a thing.  I have no idea what I said to them, I don't even remember seeing them.  They said I talked to them, but I don't remember.  I do remember someone pawing at me trying to get the tag off my the number pinned to my shirt and someone else trying to shove a "We're glad you didn't die" participation medal in my hand.  I was pretty unaware of what was going on.  After exiting the cattle chute, I manage to find a banana, a piece of pizza, and some Gatorade, after which I felt a little better and my vision returned.

I milled around for a while talking to my friends, whom I was now aware were actually there.  After about 15 minutes or so, when I thought I could drive, I headed to the car to try to catch Abbie's softball game.  Caught the bottom of the last inning...they tied.

My goal was to finish under 40 minutes.  My "un-official" time was 40:17.  I didn't quite make my goal, but I survived.  Even though the end was pretty tough for me, all in all, I had a good time..and I DID IT!!

And I learned a few things...
1 - You have to eat more than a salad before running a race.
2 - Energy boosters last about 30 minutes and are "boosts" not replacements
3 - Get water when offered

and last, but not least,
4 - Don't drink so much water before the race that you are going to have to pee during the race!

Cotton Row 5K...HERE I COME!!