5 Things that surprised me about Running a 5k

I wasn’t prepared, but that was okay. 

When I told my husband that I was going out for a run to prepare for a 5k the next day, he laughed hysterically.

Well, I went out on that run to test the waters and the truth is... I was met with some very cold, bone-chilling, life-stealing water.

During the two weeks prior to the race, I really debated doing it at all. Then, I got some excellent advice, “Just do it.” Given that it was my first race, I learned that I could massively fail and then use that time as the one to beat for subsequent races. This took so much pressure off of me.

I’m not encouraging you not to prepare, but if you haven’t followed your pre-race prep plan, just do it. And be sure to stretch.

I got passed by Santa.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... Okay, so I got passed by Santa… and a few elves. 
And dogs. And kids. And a guy with a bum leg.

This was a themed race so there were lots of costumes. About midway through, I was able to identify a few people who I was neck and neck with and made it a personal goal to keep pace with them. One was an elf with bells hanging from her skirt. Every time I heard a jingle behind me, I knew it was time to pick up the pace.

They made me wear a bib.

Okay, this is not what you are thinking. I learned that a bib is the name of the paper that is safety-pinned to your shirt. There is a computer chip adhered to the back of the bib that identifies, times and ranks you. After the race, you go to a computer where an attendant pulls up your information.

I was a complete Rockstar.

While I didn’t rock the race, I did play music while I ran and this made the race much less burdensome. I also took advantage of some apps like Nike+ Running and Fitbit to map my run and log my steps. In the end, I didn’t place, but I did get a free orange, t-shirt and a cute reindeer medal that I made into a Christmas ornament. 

I felt invigorated afterwards.

I think I had it in my mind that I would spend the rest of the day dead in bed. Instead, I did some shopping and took care of a few things I had neglected during the week. That’s not to say that this will be the case for everybody, or even for me next time, but it was fun fluttering around town as Super Endorphin Woman for a day. 

Additional Details
Race Info / 5k Reindeer Fun Run. All proceeds went to the Ontario-Montclair Promise Scholars and Recreation Scholarship Fund.
Total Steps / About 6,000.
Apps /  Nike+ Running. Fitbit. 

Related Items fitness