Big Day

I ran my first 5K today.


You might be saying to yourself, "Pat runs?". Well, I've never really done it consistently until about six months ago. I was somewhat shocked by how much "sympathy weight" I had put on while Jen was pregnant, so I figured I better start doing something about it.

The Crowd

I'll admit I was a little nervous. I didn't know where to go or what to do. Does my number go in the front or the back? Where do we line up? Are we starting now?

I lined up toward the back of the back. Not knowing the course, I figured that was a safe bet. The elite runners took off. The rest of us all bunched up real quick. Things thinned out a bit once we hit the hills. I was finally able to start passing people.

Running with a crowd is much different than running by yourself. There were times when I wanted to make a move to pass and I couldn't. Some of the Bryant sports teams were there running in groups. The rugby team was in front of me blocking the whole path and decided they would all walk for a bit. Grrr...

But despite my frustration with the people I was stuck behind, I feel like I did pretty well. I was picking people off almost the whole way after that. All these people that looked like there were in much better shape than me couldn't run up the hills. Passing them felt great.

The Course

The course was almost all hills. I had no idea. The first (and last) 800 yards or so were flat. But other than that, you were either running up a hill or running down a hill. That got old fast.

The path through the woods was only about 8 feet wide in parts. There were several 6 - 7 foot puddles. You had to tip-toe along the edges (or run right through the puddle and risk hitting a rock or a root). Not cool.

The Conditions

The conditions were awful. We probably had 3 inches of rain over night. And it was still very humid. Not great for running.

There were a lot of sharp turns and slippery muddy spots. I don't think I've ever had to look down so much while running. There were at least a few wipe-outs.

Jen and Little Man braved the elements to cheer me on. That meant a lot to me.

I didn't reach my goal time, but I had a blast anyway. And I don't feel like I left anything out there. So we'll call it a success. I'm going to take this week off, but I'll probably be doing another 5K sooner rather than later.

I would like to thank Joel, Jess and Jen. I couldn't have done it without my support system. Thanks guys!

P.S. I had a GREAT shower when we got home. It felt so good to wash off the sweat, grass and mud. Then Jen brought me a hot towel right out of the dryer. Best. Wife. Ever.

(Photos by J. Canole Action Sports Photography.)