My First 5k (Pictures linked)

[Roslin]

So back in November I decided that I needed something to motivate me beyond the numbers on the scale. I decided to look for local 5k competitions/fun runs and I found the Women's 5k by the Bay in the next town over from my home town. It was a women's only race and the course was one of the flattest in the area. It also seemed in the very distant future of April 25th at the time.

So I decided to switch from the elliptical machine to the treadmill (which had always intimidated me) for my daily cardio. Even though I was in much more shape than I was when I started losing weight, running on a surface as opposed to the elliptical is a very different experience and was getting by at 4 mph. By April I was running 4.8 solidly and pushing myself into the 5 to 5.5 mph sprinting intervals.

About three weeks ago my aunt decided to buy me my first real running shoes (I had been running in my old tennis shoes) and the 5k I had signed up for in November was quickly coming up. Before I knew it, it was the night before the race. It was only a 5k (a distance I had practice ran a few times before) and I knew I didn't really need to eat a lot of carbs for it but I decided to have fun with it anyway and made spaghetti [ 1 ][ 2 ]. I went to bed early (10:20PM) to wake up at 6:00AM to be at the park by 7:20 to pick up my tracking chip [ 3 ][ 4 ]. Since not everyone crosses the starting line at the same time they have these electronic shoe chips that are activated when you step on the starting mat and deactivate when you step on the finish mat. This gives you a truer time.

Well, at 7:50 we started lining up. I ended up next to this lady was 357 and started chatting. She had lost 80 lbs on Weight Watchers as well and we talked about that and how it was great to change your life. She had run a half marathon within the last year [ 5 ]. It was really cold outside and threatening to rain and I was wondering how I would handle it but once it started I didn't really think anymore [ 6 ].

I had drove the course before, just to know the area a little and 3.1 miles seems really long when you really look at it but I remember being surprised at how fast it all went by. I was shocked at how fast I was coming up to the 2 mile marker. I had to stop and power walk a few times but I ran about 6/8 of the course. Before I knew it I could see the finish line and then I was crossing it [ 7 ][ 8 ][ 9 ].

When I hugged my mom we both just started crying because a year and a half ago I was 240 lbs and I never thought I would be doing something like running a 5k. I always knew she was proud of me, and especially about my weight loss, but this gain of ability and athleticism was amazing and I didn't know how emotional it would be until I had done it [ 10 ][ 11 ].

After the race we walked around the park area a little bit and waited for the raffle drawings, I stretched as best I could. There was a free promotional massage area and so I got a free 15 minute stretch/massage [ 12 ]. I didn't win any of the raffles, and I didn't place in any prize category but just finishing was all I ever hoped for.

I came in 309 out of 453 runners with a time of 39:33[ 13 ]
 

[Gossy]

Awesome! I have never run anything close to that length. You should be immensely proud of yourself!

When switching to running on the treadmill, did you ever get shin splints, and if so what helped?  

[Roslin]

Thank you Gossy!

I did not get shin splints when I switched to the treadmill and I think it was because I didn't push myself outside of what was comfortable, and this was probably because I gave myself plenty of time to build up my endurance and strength in running (about 4.5 months as opposed to 3 weeks) before the 5k.

I did however used to get shin splints when I first started tennis in high school. Eventually my body just got used to running but I remember my coaches telling me potassium can help prevent them, so eating bananas. I looked up some reasons for shin splints and got these:

*Running Downhill
*Running on a slanted/tilted surface
*Running in poor/worn out footwear
*Playing sports with frequent starts and stops (tennis, basketball)
*Training too hard, too fast, or too long

[ Preventing Shin Splints ]  

[Lady Kayura]

I want to change my vote. I said I'm not into the running scene. But after reading about your experience I've decided to start training for a 5K run at the end of this fall. biggrin

Congrats on your achievement! So inspiring!  

[Tandahda]

Congrats! I totally know about poor and worn out footwear... >.> I keep contemplating running barefoot (because I run on a school field) but because I run in the dark I really don't want to step on anything...

And by run I mean walk/jog... I can't actually even jog for more than 2 minutes.

Congrats again and congrats forever! That's a great accomplishment!  

[Roslin]

@Lady Kayura

That's so awesome and I'm happy to have been an inspiration! I'm not really into the running "scene" either though. I don't think I'll ever buy those super expensive running shoes, or be the person who runs 50 miles per week. But it was great to set a fitness goal that didn't involve the scale and to have met it. It's an amazing feeling and, if you are/were like me where you used to just get anxiety from the prospect of running and just were at a point where you couldn't see yourself doing anything athletically inclined, an emotional one. Even though I had ran that distance in practice before being there and having all these strangers cheer you on and knowing you proved your old self wrong is just an awesome experience. I wish you luck and if you ever want to talk about your training feel free to contact me.

@Seraphsody

Thank you so much! Yeah, footwear can be a pain. Especially if you're not like super committed to running or anything those price tags can be deterring. The good shoes really make a difference though, I wear my running shoes to chem lab now just because they're so much more comfortable and I'm on my feet a lot in there.

Have you ever thought about trying the treadmill if you wanted to work on your endurance a little? It was kind of useful in that I knew exactly how fast I was going when I used it.  

[freelance lover]

One of my favorite organizations just started a 5k this year. I'm not running in it, since I won't be home, but I've been considering doing it next year.  

[Euthanasia Phase]

Wow, congratulations! That's really inspiring, showing the immense improvement that can happen from making a few lifestyle changes. It would be cool to be able to run a 5k, but that's still a little ways off. Anyhow, stories like this are real motivation to hit the gym in the meantime!