On Saturday I went into my 5K race with one goal: Run my guts out! I've put in many miles in my short running career but I've never run a race where I put the "pedal to the metal" the whole way and left everything out there on the course. On Saturday I had no intention of holding anything back. I wanted to see how fast these little legs could carry me.
Leading up to the race I did a lot of speed training and I knew I could hold an 8:00 minute pace for 3.1 miles. It was torturous and not fun, but I did it once in training and was confident I could do it in my race. That would put me in around 25 minutes, beating my old record. That was my original plan. But then a bunch of my friends ran a 5K last week and they KILLED it! All coming in under 24 minutes. These are the girls I ran the Ragnar with last year and their hardcore finish times inspired me to push myself more. I decided to shoot for under 24 minutes too. To do this I would have to average around a 7:45 min pace. I've never done that for more than 1 mile so I was nervous and definitely had some serious doubts. Still, I once heard it's better to aim high and miss then to aim low and reach your target.
At 7:30 am our babysitter showed up and Taber and I took off for Boston. We were kind of giddy in the car. It was crazy to be out early on a Saturday morning with no kids. I felt like we were in college on a date or something. Wouldn't that be a cute date? Run a 5K together? : ) Anyway, we were excited and we were strategizing about the best way for me to reach my goal. While we were talking he said something that really stuck with me and ended up helping me in the race. "When your lungs start to burn and your legs are throbbing just remember, it's only 24 minutes, and then it's OVER! You can hold on for 24 minutes, just push through the pain."
So often when I run I shy away from pushing myself beyond what's comfortable. Truth is though, sometimes there is a good pain. The kind that will be temporary but will bring you to the next level. I wanted to get to the next level, so I was determined to push through the pain.
Me and Taber in our warm up gear before the race
When we got there it was raining, but the show must go on. We picked up our numbers, warmed up, stretched out and lined up at the starting line. There were over 1000 runners and I wasn't about to weave around anyone so I lined up at the front with all the fast people. Hey, if I was gonna be fast I had to act the part right?
Standing in the rain before lining up at the start. This is the last pic we took because I didn't want the camera to get soaked, which it definitely would have.
The horn went off and my mind switched over into "get it done" mode. I zoned out everyone around me and just ran. I didn't look at my watch to check my pace, I just made my legs move as fast as they could without sprinting. I don't even think the second song on my iPod finished playing when I got to the first mile marker. There was a guy there calling out our split times. I ran by as he yelled 6:45. Holy smokes! I just finished my first mile in 6 minutes 45 seconds!!?? That made me feel partly elated at having run my fastest mile ever, and party horrified that I had gone out so fast and could very likely run out of gas before the end. At the halfway point I started getting a little light headed and as these things usually go, the farther I ran, the harder it got. By mile 2 I was fading, luckily one of my "power" songs came on and helped me pick up the pace again. Thank goodness for iPods and Justin Bieber!
The last mile is always the longest. I hate it when I see the finish line and it still looks so far away. My lungs were burning and everything hurt. Pushing through the pain sounds a lot easier when you're not actually trying to do it! Still, I held on to Taber's advice and made myself keep pushing. I reached the 3 mile mark, the rain was pouring down in torrents at this point and I could barely see, but I sprinted in that last 10th of a mile and crossed the finish line in 23:28. Average pace: 7:33 per mile. I did it. I ran my guts out!
I felt the weirdest combo of emotions crossing the finish line. I was gasping for air, my legs were shaking and my head was throbbing, but It didn't seem to matter because I was wrapped in the delicious satisfaction of reaching my goal. I tried to catch my breath for a second and then turned around just in time to see Taber cross the line less than 20 seconds after I did. Not bad for a guy who just started training! We hugged and high fived and shared a big wet kiss (Hey, it was pouring rain and we were sweaty, wet is the only kind of kiss we could give!)
The rain was coming down so hard we literally looked like we had just jumped in the ocean. We were drenched to the bone so we went back to the car, changed into dry clothes and then went to check out some of the demonstrations. The race was called the Boston Marine Corps Honor Run and it was pretty impressive to see the marines there in uniform with their weapons and machinery. Definitely gives you a sense of respect for the men and women who defend our country.
Standing with one of the few, the proud : )
They had a bunch of tanks lined up on the beach for a demonstration later that afternoon. I'm so bummed we missed it!
One last pic by these amphibious tanks. I like this one because the flash caught some of the raindrops and you can actually see them coming down.
On our way out we noticed that there were tons of bananas left over and they were just going to throw them away! Our family literally goes through about 24 bananas a week so when the lady said, "Take them" We gladly obliged! In the end it was the perfect morning. A fun date with my hubby, a new PR, and the mother load of bananas to bring home as victory loot!
I took a million pictures because 1) I have a habit of doing that anyway and 2) Seeing my kids at the beach for the first time was just sooo stinking cute!
After about 20 minutes of running like a crazy person up and down the coast, Teya settled down with her buddy Isaac to work on sandcastles. 
