Tony's First 5K

Truth be told, I was extremely nervous about this 5k. Can you blame me? This was my very first race ever. I remember having butterflies and bats doing combat in my stomach the night before. The only thing that kept me from going too crazy was knowing the fact that I had a partner in crime running with me: Mrs. Wickersham, my trainer and marathon mentor's wife. Having her really calmed my nerves.



I got up an hour and a half before the race so that I could do some stretches and crunches. I also had some peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat toast. This will become my pre-race routine, as it gave me the energy I needed to complete the course. Here's the break down of my run:

Lap 1, 8:13am - 8:08 Per Mile.
I made a rookie mistake. I shot out of the gate and ran as if I was being chased by the school bully after humiliating him by slipping a whoopee cushion on his seat in the cafeteria. I ran with the elite at and 8:08 pace. The adrenaline got the better of me, and I was flying high. However, I was knocked back down to reality once I got to mile #2.

Lap 2, 8:21am - 10:07 Per Mile.
Ugh. All I wanted to do was stop and lay down on the dirt ground. I lost all breath, but rather than coming to a complete stop, I slowed down as quickly as I could to recover. At one point, I walked for about two-tenths of a mile. I needed to do everything humanly possible to regain my breath and recover. When I reached the water station at the halfway point, I scooped up a paper cup and attempted to drink. Unfortunately, everything went up my nose. Rookie mistake #2. I later learned that you're supposed to pinch one side of the paper cup to create a small opening. I'll remember to do this at the next race, as I do not want to drown again!

Lap 3, 8:31am - 9:49 Per Mile.
Luckily, I was able to recover. For the last mile, I kept a steady pace.

Lap 4, The Finish Line.
With only a tenth of a mile left, I sprinted all the way to the finish line. I really wanted to finish under 30 minutes, and I did! AH! Victory! Mrs. Wickersham crossed the finish line a few seconds later.



Time: 28:53:10.
Pace: 9:18
Place: 176 out of 385