Pounding the Pavement...

Today I submitted an application & registration fee for what will be my 1st 5k race! 5k events are about 3.1 miles long, but since I’ve been running beyond that distance recently, & 4 times a week too, I think I’m ready for the challenge. Initially, I’d hoped to run this event with 2 friends, but 1 is out of town & the other flaked on me… I guess, I really haven’t been privy to any info in that regard.

Nonetheless, the kid will indeed be at the starting line on Lexington Street in Baltimore at 7:30 this Sunday morn & I’m beginning to get pretty excited about it too. The course starts downtown & portions of the race run along-side of the inner-harbor, both before & beyond the turn-around point, so it should be a pretty nice run, aesthetically speaking.

I didn’t have the free time for flag football this spring/summer, so I’m hoping the 5k helps quench the competitive thirst that’s been building in recent months. I’m reserving final judgment ‘til after the race, but I honestly don’t see myself doing many 5/10k races in the future. I do enjoy the camaraderie of being among other runners, but I love the loner aspect of my personal workouts. If nothing else, it’s 1 less item on the bucket list.

Plus, I’ve always been an independent worker. Just tell me what needs to be done, by when & you will get what you seek. No need to concern yourself about how I get it done – that part is up to me. So, likewise, increasing or slowing my current pace to match fellow runners or workout partners would probably prove to be more work than it’s worth to me anyway.

When I 1st started running, my sole intention was to stay in-shape until returning to action in 1 of my flag football or softball leagues. Since that point, in early March, I’ve become far more invested, & I mean that both literally & figuratively. Considering the time & money spent on this newfound hobby – there’s absolutely no way I’d stop right now.

I needed better running shoes (my New Balances were far too heavy), sole inserts (had to correct my arch), patella bands (the pavement was abusing my knee cartilage those 1st few weeks), glucosamine pills (to prevent further joint-cartilage degeneration), running apparel (just because I need to look good, lol) & an iPod sleeve (for obvious reasons). Still, the biggest investment to date has been my heart.

When I ran track in high school, I only ran the shorter races – I was a sprinter with quick bursts of speed. Hell, my specialty was FOOTBALL anyway, so I was only out there because my football coach demanded it. There was no way I’d even consider any events over 200 meters – I was terrified of distance running & remained that way until now.

I say that to help demonstrate how often, we as humans, miss-out on the things we’d really enjoy in life because we’re either too afraid, stubborn/lazy or smart to get involved & give something new a try. I’m glad I took the initiative to try something I wasn’t completely comfortable with. It certainly taught me a few things about myself, including the discipline I possess when properly motivated...

***Update -- May 30, 2011

Well I successfully completed the race yesterday & I think I did ok for my 1st crack at it. Overall, I placed 130th (out of 312 total runners) & 14th (out of 30 total runners) in the 30-39 year-old division. I clocked my 2nd best mile-split avg. time since I've been running longer distances (9 min./56 sec.) & my overall 5k time was 30 min./51 sec.

Coming into the race, my only goal was to finish race in the top half of the categories above & the official race results indicate my performance was right on target. So in general, I'm fairly satisfied with my performance...