DAY 108 - It's the day of the race ya all

The day I've been preparing for is finally here. I was getting sort of nervous, then realized I'm just going to be running the same distance that I do 3 times a week. Nothing really that different. Just was hoping my knee didn't give out, and I did have some fears we would start out and everyone would pass me up leaving me the last one in the pack trying to keep up, much like I was in all running type activities through out junior high and high school.

It was pretty exciting to be lined up with thousands of others, felt like a big event. The race started behind the City and County building, then went down to 9th south, back up State Street to South Temple then down South Temple to the 300 West then turned in to the Gateway and the finish line was right by that big plaza with the fountain that has turned into Salt Lake's most popular water park (so trashy).

I was proud of myself that I kept running the entire time, I would get a burst of energy when I would pass up some skinny athletic looking person. I was never in it to win, or really didn't even care about my time, I just wanted to do it. I was reminded of high school when we had to run the mile every Friday. It was 4 times around the track. I would always run the first lap, then walk really slow the next 2 and be finishing up along with everyone else. It was usually about 12 minutes, and I was cheating! I was only doing 3 laps. I hated it so bad, but I always had this secret dream that over the summer I would loose a bunch of weight and come back in the fall and beat everyone around the track..... Well I didn't beat everyone but I did keep on running, and its only 14 years (oh my gosh, that can't be right) later.
My official time was 28 min. 51 sec. I ranked 590 / 2388 I was faster than 1800 people!!

I know it's only a 5K, just a little over 3 miles, but this was a personal goal of mine. 10 years ago I could barely walk a mile. When I first started to work out I would walk for 3o minutes or 1 mile on the treadmill, whichever came first, and I would be exhausted at the end. I never dreamed I could actually RUN. It gives me inspiration to keep on going. I had originally said I was going to give up running after the race, mainly because of my knee, I don't want to ruin them for the rest of my life. But if I can figure out how to get me knee feeling better I may look into doing a 10K later this year, and possibly the half marathon next year. But I don't ever aspire to do a marathon, the only time I will run 26 miles is if I'm fleeing from some sort of natural disaster, and even then I will be tempted to sacrifice myself to the impending doom rather than keep on running.