The hungover 5k

I told my Friday night date that this was us getting a drink. Just one. Then I was going to get home, get dinner, and go to bed early.

Six (or eight) glasses of Sangria later we had a 20 minute wait for the metro (we're on the same line) and it was already 11 p.m. I'm a ridiculous lightweight, so I'm pretty drunk at this point. I mean, it was a really good date--the only reason I stuck around--but this was a pretty bad idea, since I had to get up by 6:30 for a race I paid $30 for, meaning it wasn't just another run.

The morning didn't go well. I felt a bit like death, my stomach was all funny feeling, I missed my bus and we got lost trying to find the race. Jaclyn isn't a runner, so she wasn't even planning on running the whole 5k and was worried about making a fool of herself. I was thinking that I was the runner here, so if I sucked, then I'd really be making a fool of myself. I got to the start line, still a little queasy and irritable, thinking: Its only 3 miles, I can have this done and over with in 20 minutes. I started way too far back, and ended up jumping over the grass to pass people. I was under 7 min/mi pace and actually felt pretty good. I passed one, 6 foot guy and he yelled "CRAP!" loudly as I did. (insert evil laugh here)

So I was just running and trying to keep that pace. It wasn't that painful, until I looked and saw I wasn't even half-way done. I could feel my pace slipping, I ignored the water stop and focused on passing people in front of me. Then a guy told me I was in 8th place. Really?! 8th?! That sounded pretty cool to me. Then I looked and saw the end of the race was approaching. At this point my stomach is groaning in protest. I really wanted to stop. I made it my goal to pass the two guys in front of me, and did on a downhill. Finally I see a guy on a bike, who tells me I'm the first woman and he'll escort me in.

I won!!! I got a prize and everything. I got to run through the ribbon and earned the title "First Woman" for the next hour or so. You just don't win marathons so I hadn't ever had this happen before, or thought it was possible. The best part was the second woman who finished. She was clearly miffed that I beat her. She came up to me and was like "How old are you?" I told her I was 21 and she went off on this rampage about being 37, with 2 kids, this was her first race after a broken foot, and she does triathlons, so she excels in distance. I was totally taken aback as she started spitting all this out at me as an excuse for letting me beat her. I just smiled, told her she did really well. I said this was my first 5k, I usually do marathons, and walked away smirking. Whatever, she got first in her age category for woman, and I did in mine. I also got a 3-month membership at Gold's Gym, perfect for the upcoming cold weather!

Garmin Connect: March of Dimes Bolt for Babies 5k