First Races

On Saturday night I participated in the Meet Me Downtown 5k.  I did the run last year and was alone and still had a good time.  This year I was surrounded not only by my husband but plenty of running friends, new and old.  This turned out to be a special event for me.  A chance to remember the joy of first races and to jog myself down memory lane.

I've been running races for 10 years.  I can vividly remember the very first time I ran with purpose and I think at the time that meant I ran about 100 yards.  I was elated and gasping for air but it felt like the beginning of something.  I kept running but nothing over the top and I certainly wasn't training for anything.  Then in the Fall of 2001 I started to lose weight and exercise became a required part of my life.  I was loving my spinning classes and running a bit.  Finally, in the Spring of 2002 I had lost 40 lbs and felt invincible.  Being 25, recently out of grad school and fully employed helped with the invincible part.  Anyway, I decided to join up with the American Diabetes Association's version of "Team in Training" and train for the Dublin Marathon.  Then I was running with purpose.

I trained consistently through the Spring and Summer of 2002.  Running felt good.  I had a 13 mile training run coming up and came across the America's Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego.  So, I signed up and headed out for the weekend.  Oh to be young and free again.  I am reliving this story because this was my first road race.  I didn't go the normal route and train for a 5k, then 10k and then half marathon.  My first goal was a marathon and this half was just a training run.  I was too naive to know that it was a pressure filled situation.  I just went to run, in San Diego, with a whole bunch of other people.

The week leading up to this race I had injured my right knee.  I didn't think much of it.  It felt stiff but not really swollen.  During the race the pain was significant for the first 4 miles and then it just went numb.  I think the magnitude of the distance, my exhaustion, and first race elation caught up with me when I saw the finish line.  I remember the joy I felt and the release from so much self doubt and years of carrying around extra weight and emotional baggage.  I had achieved something pretty impressive.  It is also the fastest I have yet to complete a half marathon at 2:18.  

Unfortunately, it would be my first and last race for some time.  My knee was significantly injured.  I had torn my meniscus on a training run and then proceeded to run 13.1 hard miles on the injury.  It took about 6 months for the orthopedist to get it all sorted out and I had my first knee surgery over New Year's 2003.  Fun times.  

It felt like it took forever for the knee to heal and one of my first races back in the game was the 5k associated with the San Francisco Marathon in July 2003.  Again, I just signed up for this race because it sounded like fun and Jamie and I were planning a trip to the Bay Area.

My knee only held out for a few more months but I had my second surgery in November 2003.  It was then diagnosed as Osteoarthritis and the doctor described it as a devastating injury for someone so young.  I was told I would outlive my knee and never run again.  Blah.

Maybe it was young age or something else but I guess I never felt a sense of awe in my running.  I guess I still don't.  It is just something that I do.  I get nervous before races.  I get lazy in my training.  I hope for faster times.  

This weekend I had the chance to see running and racing from a different perspective.  I have a few friends, in their mid-30's, moms just like me, who have decided to start running.  I am so impressed by them.  I can't imagine starting now.  Finding the time and motivation to begin a new habit.  A habit that at times is more of a chore than a joy.  Or, maybe that is just my jaded perspective.

The Meet Me Downtown 5k was the culmination of their months of 5k training and they were so excited, nervous, and full of questions.  I so often forget that a 5k is a real and lasting accomplishment because for me the distance is an easy training run.  See, I'm jaded.  It was a treat to live this out with them.

This race was pretty crowded.  It has great atmosphere with a live band playing and the sun setting.  The only problems are that it is hot and crowded and this year we had bonus forest fire smoke.  Joy.

We worked out pre-race jitters with pictures and a trip to the bathroom.  

I only know 3 of these people.

This was the view from where we finally settled in the starting corral.

My husband is the dark haired guy in the red shirt right in the middle of the picture.

The race started and I went out fast.  I went out too fast.  It was seriously 100 degrees, we'd been out volunteering for about 2 hours before the race and there was smoke in the air.  I should have taken it easy.  If only I were less competitive.  At mile 1.5 I had a side stitch and my mouth was dry.  At mile 2 I walked through the water station trying to settle my breathing down and by mile 3 I was convincing myself to keep running.  It wasn't a terrible race.  I did feel nauseous at one point and thought I was going to lose my lunch.  I felt light-headed a couple of times but mostly I was just anxious to be finished.

I finished in a slow 32:05.  Whatever.  I could beat myself up but it wouldn't do any good.  The conditions were terrible and, well, I haven't done much speed work lately.  Lesson learned.   You have to actually train to go faster.  Duh.

The best part of the evening (besides the rare chance to race with my husband) was watching my good friends cross their first finish line.  They worked so hard and for them this was a huge accomplishment.  I am so proud of them.  I am an emotional person to begin with and I nearly lost it when my friend, Jen, came barreling toward the finish.  You could see the pain and relief and joy in her face.  

My friend finishing her first 5k race.

There are so many times that I take my accomplishments, fitness, and training for granted.  It is just what I do.  I want to be faster and fitter and place higher but I forget that there are so many people out there who wish that they could do all these things that I take for granted.  I hope that in some small way I am able to inspire someone to try and push their physical limits and fears.

Thank you to my friends, training buddies, and fellow racers for inspiring me.

Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about. 

 ~Patti Sue Plummer (running)