I ran the Atlanta Women’s 5K this morning and this was just one big disappointment for me. The weather was beautiful, the course was scenic and the cute little women’s fit Nike Technical T-Shirts we received at the end were good. Everything else was just not so great for me.
I arrived quite early and took care of all my necessary business (including a little Port-A-Potty stop). I even had time to take a nap in the car. A mere half-hour later, even after avoiding fluids like the plague, my ridiculously small bladder forced me into the potty line again. The line was very long and slow (all women LOL!) so I had to wait for about 25 minutes. This put me towards the back of the starting line.
This was a women only race and team participation (mother-daughter, sisters, etc) was encouraged. I think that made the proportion of walkers to runners extra high. The course route was TINY for the first mile or so too. It would be pushing it for three people to run side by side. So I’m in the back of the pack surrounded by a bunch of people walking together on a narrow course. (Note to walkers: 3 people walking side by side blocking the path during a race is not nice. Stagger yourself or something!) I have never been so annoyed at a race as this one. I couldn’t shake the crowds for about a mile it seemed. I was so frustrated by being blocked in with walkers and only being able to build speed in fits and starts that I never found my rhythm. In a 5K that is *everything* because it is such a short distance. There isn’t a lot of time to make up for extra slow starts.
I know I will never be some kind of elite runner and my goal is not to win. I do, however, try my hardest to do better than I did before. I want to challenge myself every time. My race prediction chart said I could do this in 24:30 which meant that my first split needed to be 7:53. When the volunteer called out my mile split and it was almost 9 minutes I felt like giving up right then and there. Why bother pushing when I was a minute off pace and coming into a hilly mile?
My second and third miles were much better, in spite of the hills, but I couldn’t overcome the slow start. I finished in 26:20 or something like that. I did my last 5K in 25:08 so this race was a lot worse. I feel really disappointed in myself. I KNOW that I was capable of doing better. I finished the race with a full on sprint. I wasn’t even gasping for air at the end like I am during some of my better efforts. I allowed my irritation at the start of the race to get me down and I just didn’t try as hard as I could have. I listened to the voice in my head that said “You’re already behind and you know you don’t have what it takes to catch up.” In short, I gave up and that is not going to happen ANYMORE!
My half-marathon is next Sunday and I am going to blow it out of the water. I am capable of finishing in less than 2 hours and I WILL make it happen. I’ll do it in spite of the hills, in spite of the crowds, in spite of having no IPOD. I’m going to remember how I felt at the end of this race and know that not giving it my all is not an option.
