I Freaking DID IT!!!!

I ran my first 10k this morning!!! I've been training for this since the beginning of February so I knew I could do it, but until you actually get there, it's nerve-wracking!!!

So this morning... I got up and had my breakfast, got dressed, did my thing... got downtown early to find a parking place. It's the first day of Tulip Time, so I knew I'd have to walk a bit, but it was good. I walked over to the start/finish line, and the 5k had already started. About 5 minutes later the first 5k finishers were crossing the line and the crowd was cheering, even me! I stood there and watched all kinds of people cross that line and I was so happy for all of them!

About 20 minutes before the 10k was supposed to start I dashed over to the potty for a final pit-stop. Then back to the line. We waited a few extra minutes for the last 5k racers to finish and then I lined up at the back of the pack and we were off!!! The whole group took off at a good pace and I stayed right with a bunch for a little bit. After the first mile I was still passing a few people, but my pace seemed to even out a bit. I was checking my gps for my pace every mile or two and it was what I wanted, so I kept going. I need to work on gulping water while running, I did really bad and only got about one swallow at each of the water stations, but I think it helped! Had to tie one of my shoes again at mile 2, but it didn't seem to slow me down much.

There were people that passed me and people I passed. I just kind of kept my head in the game and pushed really hard! There were some hills, but not too bad, and about a mile into a headwind which made me very thankful for all that windy training!!! I ended up 17th in my age category, which doesn't sound great, but I was happy with that because my official chip time was 1:04:27!!!! I was training to come in under 1:15, but I blew that out of the water!!!! I was so happy... I still am! Floating is about how I feel and I think I'll let that stick around a while longer.

So now what. I can say that this will not be my last race, not by a long shot. It really gives me something to work toward and I need that to keep going. To be honest, I really don't always like running, but I know I need to do it. I am going to keep running. As it's helped me lose weight and get in the best shape of my life... I really don't have a choice!

Besides... the feeling of crossing that line was amazing.. and I FREAKING DID IT!!! Woohoo!!!!!