Well, I didn't decide to travel anywhere this long, lovely weekend, per se. However, I did run in my first 5k race this morning in Aurora, which was both an undertaking and a visual pleasure nonetheless. Having first started running about six months ago, and having only reached one-mile-status about three months ago (insert your clever joke that it took me three months to run a mile here), and also considering I'm an asthmatic ex-smoker who has what my physical therapist once called "the tightest hamstrings [he's] ever seen," I am pretty darn proud of myself for making it this far.
The location of the race was Sunny Lake Park in Aurora, Ohio, and it was quite pretty. Surrounded by tall, lush green trees hinting at autumn color, the lake was calm and the morning was chilly. I managed to injure myself before the race even started, because ...well, because that's what I do. I cut my thumb trying to open a sugar canister for my coffee, and bled through three band-aids before race-time. Yeah, that's about right.
My hubby came to watch me, and I acted all too-cool-for-school, absolutely non-panicky at all, while we walked to the starting point. Inside, of course, I was peeing a little bit (metaphorically speaking, of course). Half of me is thinking "You wuss, this is only 3.15213434 miles (roughly)," and the other half of me is thinking "If you casually jog to the left most of the first half mile, you'll make it back to the car through the woods and no one will notice." Luckily, the former voice won out - mainly because I had already told my friends and posted on Facebook that I'd be running the race, and my pride wouldn't allow me to back out now. And so it began.
I literally got passed by some of the 5k walkers - that is not an exaggeration - before the end of the first lap around the lake. But, I kept about an 11-minute-mile pace, which is good for me because I have teeny-tiny legs and have to take about double the steps that everyone else has to take. Once the 65-year-old passed me though, I picked up the pace a little bit.
The scenery really was beautiful. We ran around the lake and through the woods on a nice paved path, and the smells of the forest helped to calm my mind and my breathing a bit. I had a decently excruciating cramp about halfway through the second mile, which I attribute to the coffee earlier (that was strike two against that stupid cup of coffee. I don't even drink coffee!).
By the end of the race, I was feeling alright and saw my husband cheering for me at the finish line. I smiled and ran through it, having not walked at all, and shockingly landing about in the middle of the pack, with a 33:25 time. Not bad for a 5'2" novice runner. I might just keep at this sport. Maybe.
So, that was the most excitement I saw this weekend, which was just fine with me. I relaxed the rest of the time, saving my exertion for Labor Day, of course. I hope you enjoyed yours, as we all head back to the fabulous world of computers and annoying co-workers tomorrow (if you're one of my co-workers reading this, don't worry, I'm not talking about you).
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