So, I had my first race this morning!
It was just a little one, that happened to go through my neighborhood. Half the loop was actually the same course I often take for my daily runs, so I think it was a good choice for a newby like me.
It was so much fun! The race was hosted by a local Irish pub/restaurant, who arranged for musicians to perform at intervals all along the course. And there's something really great about people cheering you on.
Lots of goofy folks, wearing silly hats and wigs and such (which is partly for fun, and partly to make it easier for friends and family to spot you in the crowd.) And I'm thinking I might want to make a roo patch to wear for my next race, because if people see your name they'll call it out when you run by, which is neat! And motivating.
J and Sprog came out to cheer me on. When I first saw them, I actually hopped out of the street onto the sidewalk to give them high fives. Sprog looked bewildered. And they walked down to the finish, to meet me there-- got to see me cross the line.
They had a young runners race along with the main event-- a separate one for the very small, but then from like 7 or 8 on up they ran with the grownups.
There was this little girl, couldn't have been more than seven, with pigtails and these rainbowy leggings on, running with her mom. They were sort of just ahead of me for a lot of the tail end of the race, so I had fun cheering her on. She was so cute! Obviously, keeping up a good pace, since she was faster than me-- but all goofy enthusiastic with arms and legs kicking out, the way little girls run when they're happy.
Oh, and if I believed in woo, I'd have a tale to tell--
on the way up to the Cloisters, there was this Irish band playing folksongs, and as I ran past I was thinking, It would be so cool if they played 'Whiskey In The Jar' as I come back around.
On the way back, I could hear "...Captain Farrell and the money he was countin'..." Woot! I gave the band a big salute as I went by.
I told J about it after the race, and he said, "That's cool. Of course, there are only two Irish songs."
Which is not exactly true. But he made a good point.
Anyway. The only note for next time is I should get those things for shoelaces, because one shoe came untied when I was within 200 yards of the finish line. I didn't want to stop to tie it with the finish so close, so I ran carefully-- but it meant I couldn't really kick it at the finish.
After, we got coffee and such and took Sprog to the playground. Then we got groceries and came home. Which means I've had a totally awesome productive day, and it's not even afternoon yet, really. "We can just sit on the couch and watch TV for the rest of the day now, and I won't even feel guilty!"
And tomorrow I can go online and find out my time. I wasn't really pushing it-- just looking to have a pleasant run. But I went faster than I thought I would, considering I'm not really in shape yet at all. So, awesome! Yay me!
Yay, you, Roo!
Posted by: Jean | March 04, 2013 at 09:57 AM
Congrats on finishing your first race!
Posted by: Kathi | March 04, 2013 at 10:55 AM
Awesome! I have just started running, only been at it 6 months and am running a 15k in Jacksonville this Saturday. EEK! I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for it....
Posted by: Debra D. | March 05, 2013 at 09:08 AM
Debra, that's fantastic! I am nowhere near that kind of shape yet-- though I hope to run a half marathon by the end of the year. We'll see-- I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and trust progress will happen.
Congratulations on taking the leap, and good luck with your race this weekend. Run like the wind!
Posted by: roo | March 05, 2013 at 11:56 AM
That is so great! I have done two 5Ks with my daughter. It was so much fun!
Posted by: mayberry | March 06, 2013 at 11:21 PM