Rather randomly, I found out just this week that there was a 5k race in North Liberty this weekend.  Kevin was a volunteer at the race so I decided that I would enter and get my first race out of the way.  (I’m running in the Run for the Schools in October and that was going to be my first race.)  The idea of actually running in a race was really intimidating to me because, though I’ve been running for several months now and my distances have increased to far longer than 5 kilometers, the idea of racing isn’t easy to someone who has never raced in her life.  I didn’t care about winning; I just didn’t want to be the last one.

The beginning of the race was kind of confusing because the guy starting the race was thanking the sponsors and then, without much warning at all, he blared the horn and everyone started running.  To make it more confusing, someone behind me was like, “Emily, you lost your ear bud!”  I was like, “No, I have them both.”  Then I realized she was talking to a different Emily.  So needless to say, my start wasn’t very good and then I was so caught up in the hype of the race that I maxed my energy too fast without focusing on my regular breathing and pace.  It didn’t make it any easier that skilled runners were passing me and that really does a number on one’s self esteem.  I kept peeking behind me as I went around corners just to make sure that someone, anyone, was still behind me.

It ended up that I certainly didn’t finish first (expected) and I didn’t finish last either (happily).  It was a record pace for me (9’15″/mile).

Low-light of the day was that we didn’t get race numbers.  I’m hoping that my next race in October we get numbers because otherwise I won’t be happy.  Highlight of the day was that today’s race put my total mileage at 202.63 miles!  I am now part of the 200-mile club.  This is quite an accomplishment for an anti-runner turned avid runner.

I have mixed feelings about running in races because I am a poor sport.  Yep, there it is.  I admitted it.  I hate losing.  The feeling of having people passing me is one of the worst ever.  I like running by myself because I can beat my own records, but don’t have to prove anything to anyone else or run against anyone else’s records.

For me, I have accomplished much though and I have to keep reminding myself of that.  It’s good for me to run against other people because it puts me in my place.  I’m not a fast runner, but I ran a race with some really fast people today and I finished it.  I didn’t finish as fast as they did, but I finished it.  That counts for something.