I'm An Athlete Now
So, I did a 5K race event. Totally makes me an athlete now, right?
Our company sponsored participation in the Rock 'n' Roll race events last weekend by paying the full entry fees for employees and partially for their friends and family. In all, we had 191 participants. Much to the shock of many, I chose to be one those 191 and signed up for the 5K.
When I told people about it, their natural response was to ask, "Are you going to run it?" My reply was consistent, "I'm not even sure I know how to run anymore." I literally can't remember the last time I ran so walking was my plan.
While I did walk a 5K in November in the Walk To End Alzheimer's, I knew this was going to take more effort than that leisurely stroll so I did some prep work. I didn't want to let anything be an excuse for not successfully completing the task.
First up was getting some decent shoes as I was pretty sure my Sketchers weren't going to be adequate. I headed over to Road Runner Sports at Tempe Marketplace to get professional assistance instead of just going to Famous Footwear and buying something pretty. One of the employees greeted me right away and asked what I was looking for. When I said something for walking and spin (yeah, I might do that again), he asked me if I'd gone through their fitting process. Of course not but I was all in so got on the list.
While I was waiting, I watched two guys get analyzed so I knew what to expect and not look like an idiot. They have you step on a sensor to see where your pressure points are, record you on a treadmill to see your gait and step then get you to step on moldable inserts that form to your feet. The guys both ran on the treadmill and I thought, "Oh, no, is this where I'm going to have to find out if I still have it?"
When it was my turn, I confessed that I'd never been on a treadmill before and the employee assured me he wouldn't make it go too fast. Whew, no running! He started me out walking and I was like, "That seems fast enough" and he was like, "Let's get it to at least one mile per hour." So much for not looking like an idiot.
I walked out of there with new shoes, the inserts and blister proof socks while leaving behind over $200. I'm going to wear those shoes to death.
Next on the list was to get some workout clothing. I bought two pairs of exercise pants, one super long and the other calf length. I haven't broken down and gotten any tops yet mostly because I didn't like what I saw when I was shopping.
Finally, my prep was to actually walk and not just accessorize. We have a passel of people who do laps in our parking lot at work and I became one of them. It's actually pretty soothing to plug in my earbuds and listen to tunes while going in a big circle. I started in 15 minute intervals which got me 3 1/2 laps then moved to 20 minutes and 4 1/2 laps and a fine sweat. I thought I was doing well with two or three times a week of that.
Come race day, the morning temp was in the 40s but it was supposed to get to 70. I didn't want to mess with a jacket so I got on the light rail in my new, long pants and company event workout shirt. I could feel all eyes on me as everyone else was in pea coats or down jackets and wearing hats and scarves. Well, not all eyes. The homeless people who ride the rail to stay warm were all sleeping.
The company sponsored a tent for us so we all congregated before heading to the starting line. It was fun seeing how many people there were in the group and nice to see spouses and kids. The plan was to walk with my friend Steve and his daughter Alex. Alex had declared no running and we fist bumped on it.
All too soon, it was time to head to our corral at the starting line. It was pretty crowded but not horrible.
We were finally on our way and, just after the starting mark, Steve said, "We want to run just a little bit to get out of this crowd, OK?"
Well, I was finally going to get an answer to whether I still knew how to run. And, the answer is yes. However, I don't think I made it more than five or six steps before my knees sent an alarming and quite painful SOS to my brain that I interpreted as "What the frak are you doing to us? Stop immediately or else!"
I listened as I had no choice. Man, it hurt. I waved them on, settled into a fast walk. Well, it felt fast to me and it was soon apparent that my parking lot laps were insufficient training at the pace I had been doing them at. I spotted one of my colleagues ahead of me and tried to keep pace with her but I lagged behind when I stopped to get my water out of my bag so I just trudged along.
Up a hill.
Seriously, who puts a long hill in a race path? Not only was I trying to walk as fast as I could, I now had to go up an incline. Full out sweat at this point and I drained my water. Fortunately, what goes up had to come down so we had a downhill portion, too.
Somewhere along the way, two of my colleagues came up behind me and were kind enough to settle at my pace so we could walk together. We got passed by some other peeps in our group as we went on but I was focusing on just going. It wasn't like I was dying, it was more like I knew if I stopped I wouldn't want to get going again.
Finally, the finish line was in sight! My co-walkers wanted to run at the end for a dramatic finish as one's boyfriend was there waiting to film it. I waived them ahead of me. My knees were grateful.
Just that morning, I had decided to set my goal for 1 hour. My chip time came in at 1:00:16.
Frak me. Now, I have to do another one to get my goal. Regardless of my finish time, I still received a nifty medal.
Afterwards, we adjourned to the beer garden where they served lightly flavored water. Some people call it Michelob Ultra. We may have had more than one because that's how we roll.
Bonus in that I got to spend some time with my friend Anne Marie who came in from California to do the 5K on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday. That's some dedication! Our work group had quite a few people doing multiple events including having their kids do some kid only races.
I was afraid to sit down after the race because I wasn't sure I would get back up again. My legs were pretty jelly. I even stood on the light rail ride home. I did have to get into my car to drive home from there but I figured I could just nap in my carport if I couldn't get out.
Really minimal post-race effects. I painfully tossed and turned on Saturday night and had the brilliant thought that I should have taken some Advil but I was too lazy to get up. It would have required turning on lights. I did take some Sunday and Monday mornings and, by Monday night, I felt perfectly normal.
Well, normal for an athlete.
Our company sponsored participation in the Rock 'n' Roll race events last weekend by paying the full entry fees for employees and partially for their friends and family. In all, we had 191 participants. Much to the shock of many, I chose to be one those 191 and signed up for the 5K.
 |
| Me with some actual athletes. (Photo courtesy of SmartPractice) |
When I told people about it, their natural response was to ask, "Are you going to run it?" My reply was consistent, "I'm not even sure I know how to run anymore." I literally can't remember the last time I ran so walking was my plan.
While I did walk a 5K in November in the Walk To End Alzheimer's, I knew this was going to take more effort than that leisurely stroll so I did some prep work. I didn't want to let anything be an excuse for not successfully completing the task.
First up was getting some decent shoes as I was pretty sure my Sketchers weren't going to be adequate. I headed over to Road Runner Sports at Tempe Marketplace to get professional assistance instead of just going to Famous Footwear and buying something pretty. One of the employees greeted me right away and asked what I was looking for. When I said something for walking and spin (yeah, I might do that again), he asked me if I'd gone through their fitting process. Of course not but I was all in so got on the list.
While I was waiting, I watched two guys get analyzed so I knew what to expect and not look like an idiot. They have you step on a sensor to see where your pressure points are, record you on a treadmill to see your gait and step then get you to step on moldable inserts that form to your feet. The guys both ran on the treadmill and I thought, "Oh, no, is this where I'm going to have to find out if I still have it?"
When it was my turn, I confessed that I'd never been on a treadmill before and the employee assured me he wouldn't make it go too fast. Whew, no running! He started me out walking and I was like, "That seems fast enough" and he was like, "Let's get it to at least one mile per hour." So much for not looking like an idiot.
I walked out of there with new shoes, the inserts and blister proof socks while leaving behind over $200. I'm going to wear those shoes to death.
Next on the list was to get some workout clothing. I bought two pairs of exercise pants, one super long and the other calf length. I haven't broken down and gotten any tops yet mostly because I didn't like what I saw when I was shopping.
Finally, my prep was to actually walk and not just accessorize. We have a passel of people who do laps in our parking lot at work and I became one of them. It's actually pretty soothing to plug in my earbuds and listen to tunes while going in a big circle. I started in 15 minute intervals which got me 3 1/2 laps then moved to 20 minutes and 4 1/2 laps and a fine sweat. I thought I was doing well with two or three times a week of that.
Come race day, the morning temp was in the 40s but it was supposed to get to 70. I didn't want to mess with a jacket so I got on the light rail in my new, long pants and company event workout shirt. I could feel all eyes on me as everyone else was in pea coats or down jackets and wearing hats and scarves. Well, not all eyes. The homeless people who ride the rail to stay warm were all sleeping.
The company sponsored a tent for us so we all congregated before heading to the starting line. It was fun seeing how many people there were in the group and nice to see spouses and kids. The plan was to walk with my friend Steve and his daughter Alex. Alex had declared no running and we fist bumped on it.
All too soon, it was time to head to our corral at the starting line. It was pretty crowded but not horrible.
 |
| Ready to walk! (I did tell Alex she should turn that ugly cap inside out.) |
 |
| Waiting for our turn. |
We were finally on our way and, just after the starting mark, Steve said, "We want to run just a little bit to get out of this crowd, OK?"
Well, I was finally going to get an answer to whether I still knew how to run. And, the answer is yes. However, I don't think I made it more than five or six steps before my knees sent an alarming and quite painful SOS to my brain that I interpreted as "What the frak are you doing to us? Stop immediately or else!"
I listened as I had no choice. Man, it hurt. I waved them on, settled into a fast walk. Well, it felt fast to me and it was soon apparent that my parking lot laps were insufficient training at the pace I had been doing them at. I spotted one of my colleagues ahead of me and tried to keep pace with her but I lagged behind when I stopped to get my water out of my bag so I just trudged along.
Up a hill.
Seriously, who puts a long hill in a race path? Not only was I trying to walk as fast as I could, I now had to go up an incline. Full out sweat at this point and I drained my water. Fortunately, what goes up had to come down so we had a downhill portion, too.
Somewhere along the way, two of my colleagues came up behind me and were kind enough to settle at my pace so we could walk together. We got passed by some other peeps in our group as we went on but I was focusing on just going. It wasn't like I was dying, it was more like I knew if I stopped I wouldn't want to get going again.
Finally, the finish line was in sight! My co-walkers wanted to run at the end for a dramatic finish as one's boyfriend was there waiting to film it. I waived them ahead of me. My knees were grateful.
Just that morning, I had decided to set my goal for 1 hour. My chip time came in at 1:00:16.
Frak me. Now, I have to do another one to get my goal. Regardless of my finish time, I still received a nifty medal.
Afterwards, we adjourned to the beer garden where they served lightly flavored water. Some people call it Michelob Ultra. We may have had more than one because that's how we roll.
 |
| Cheers! |
Bonus in that I got to spend some time with my friend Anne Marie who came in from California to do the 5K on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday. That's some dedication! Our work group had quite a few people doing multiple events including having their kids do some kid only races.
 |
| Anne Marie wore a Parrot Head running skirt in my honor. |
Really minimal post-race effects. I painfully tossed and turned on Saturday night and had the brilliant thought that I should have taken some Advil but I was too lazy to get up. It would have required turning on lights. I did take some Sunday and Monday mornings and, by Monday night, I felt perfectly normal.
Well, normal for an athlete.
 |
| I did it! |
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