5K race recap

I did it!  So glad I did.  I prayed a lot beforehand about running it, and I felt that if I took it slow and didn't try to push myself the way I normally would, things would be okay. 

When I got to the race site this morning, a police officer told me I had to go find somewhere else to park, which was totally contrary to what the race organizers had said.  Aaaaahhh!!  I found a parking spot up by one of the fraternities about a quarter-mile away, and started off.  I asked a volunteer at the site if I could borrow a phone so I could call Neil and tell him that he'd have to park elsewhere, as he was planning to meet me at the end with the kids.  While I was dialing, the cannon went off and the race started!  So I quickly finished the call, jogged over to the starting line, and managed to wedge myself in behind a woman with a seeing eye dog and a guy in a wheelchair.  Everyone was walking, and it took me awhile to weave my way through and get up with the runners.

The very beginning of the race was a super-steep downhill.  I know some people (Neil, for instance) hate downhills, but I LOVE them!!  It's never bothered my knees, and I always feel a huge energy burst going downhill, so this was a great start for me.  A lot of people were walking down because the grade was so steep, which helped me to get ahead of the pack a bit.  It was pretty cold and sprinkling a bit, but I just was so happy to be running this that I didn't mind. 

The first mile was pretty easy--down the streets by campus and totally flat.  When we turned at the end of the first mile, we hit the looooong uphill that lasted for the next mile.  I ran up most of it, but I told myself that I HAD to stop about halfway up at the speed limit sign and walk.  The last time I ran up a hill I had pretty bad contractions afterwards that lasted for a long time, and I wanted to avoid that, plus I knew how worried my mom and Neil were about me pushing too hard, so I made myself a promise that I would walk.   I felt kind of weird just stopping the run and letting all these people pass me, but I also felt like it was a good compromise.  I walked for three or four minutes until the hill started leveling out again, and this gave me time to notice how tight my muscles were from the uphill.  Yuck! 

When I started running again, my legs felt AWFUL.  I told myself I'd run until the end of the song and then reassess, at which point I hit the lone water stop, paused to drink my little Dixie cup, realized there was only a single mile to go, and started off strong again--the leg pain had worked itself out. 


I ran the last mile at a pretty good clip.  It was great to be passing people consistently again and did a lot for my motivation.  The rain had cleared up, there was a brisk breeze, and I felt so great despite the gray cloudiness of the day.  During this last mile, I just felt so much gratitude for the healthiness I've been able to enjoy throughout most of this pregnancy and that I was able to reach this goal of running one final race a few weeks before my due date.  I was also really excited to see my family at the end, since I've never had anyone to greet me at the finish line before!  I started picking up speed as I rounded the last mile marker and entered the finish chute, at which point I saw Neil and the kids running towards the finish.  I yelled to Abigail and they all turned around and started waving like crazy.  It was such a great ending to the race and such a perfect start to the day.

My final time was 32:02, which I was happy with (the first mile was somewhere between 9 and 9:30 I think?)  It's not going to win me any records, but at 35 weeks pregnant and with walking 3 or 4 minutes of those 32, I was pleased.  And more than anything, I felt like this race was a great culmination to the last 8 months of runs and everything I've battled through to get to this point--still running!! 

the circled one is me, just before crossing the finish line