My legs are STILL sore…
…but it’s an soreness brought on by accomplishment…
…
…yeah, that was lame, deal with it. 
I ran my first ever race yesterday, the Mighty Medford Freeway 5k, located in Westminster, MD. This was my first race, and my first real attempt at outdoor running, and it.was.AWESOME.
The course was mostly flat w/ some very small sloping areas, until you hit the halfway mark, which involves climbing up a very large (ie. a bitch of a) hill. I was doing good with running/jogging up until that point, but I had to start walking once I was halfway up. I had to walk one other time during the second half, but that was only for about a hundred feet.
Overall, I SURPRISED THE HELL OUT OF MYSELF and finished in 30 minutes and 59 seconds. Wow. I had been running 5k on the treadmill and finishing it about this time, but I thought the roadrace was going to instill a nice dose of reality and I was going to finish much slower. Once I saw a ton of people passing me, I resigned myself to a) trying not to be last, and b) trying to finish in at least 40 minutes.
I finished well below 40 minutes 
, and I wasn’t last, either! I don’t know my official standing yet, but I will update this post once the results are posted. WooT! (update: the results are posted and you can view them here. I came in 35th place out of 39.)
So yeah, my legs are VERY SORE, but its all good. I need to get some biking in today ensure making my “60 miles for the week” goal, so my calves will get a bit of a break.
The next race is on Febuary 7th, and is the “Bear Run Four Miler”, also in Westminster. I’d definitely like to try to give this a go, and if anyone noticed on my twitter over the weekend, I am officially registered for The Under Armour Baltimore Marathon on October 16th. It’s not just idle talk anymore…WooT!
I better get my ass in gear, huh?
How was everyone elses weekend?
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Get in! Nice one Steve. So 10 months to get in marathon shape eh? Will be interesting to follow your progress to it, we’re not going to let you pussy out of it!
I hope you don’t, not that I planned on pussying out anyway, but its nice to know my ass will be kicked if I try
Awesome work, Steve. I had no doubt at all you’d do well at this one based on how you’ve been working out lately. I did have a question though: How did the outside running influence your breathing? Like, since it was so cold out, was it harder to breathe or easier? Getting so winded on the treadmill is what makes it so hard for me to jog, and that’s indoors where it’s warm. I’ve always wondered what it’s like in different temps.
Good weekend here, hope the rest of yours was, too!
Breathing really was a different experience, especially with the air being so cold and dry. It was hard to really catch my breath all day, and deep breaths resulted in coughing fits :-/
Congrats! The first race is by far the hardest — so many thoughts beforehand and then all of a sudden it’s over and it was nothing like you thought. With a start like this, you’ll be well prepared for your first marathon. And don’t worry, that soreness will go away soon enough.
Thanks David, and luckily the soreness is starting to subside. I got a little dissapointed yesterday after seeing my standing compared to the rest of the runners (35th out of 39), but I snapped out of that fairly quickly and am looking forward to the next race
Steve, much congratulations on an awesome effort and time!!! Epsom salt and a hot tub, for sure!!! Ten months of training and I’m sure you’ll be more than ready for that marathon! The Omaha Marathon is September 26, 2010 and I’m debating on the half or full – we’ll see how my foot heals up and how my running progress goes. You can’t register until July, so I’ve got plenty of time to re-train and see how it progresses.
Congrats, again! Love the pic – looks like you’re about to kick some ass, which is exactly what you did!!!
Half, or full..both would be AWESOME! I’m sure your foot will be good as new by then and you’ll be ready to go! Kickass!
Congrats on a fantastic first race.
I’m looking forward to watching you progress towards the marathon.
And I’m looking forward to sharing (venting) about my progress, whether it be good, bad, or ugly
Thanks!
Congrats Steve, that’s really exciting.
I’m hoping to get more into running as things warm up around here, and hopefully do a 5k myself, maybe toward the end of the summer.
Keep up the great work!
It was definitely an awesome experience and I highly recommend it. Thats great that you are aiming for a 5k too…you’ll be marathoner in no time
Look at you! Congratulations. Wanna know a secret? I am quietly considering doing the Couch to 5K. I think runners are glamorous. More glamorous than those of us who think they get enough exercise just riding the buttdent on their sofa, like moi.
Good work indeed!
Hehe…I love riding the buttdent on the sofa too..I can’t deny that.
I’ve heard Couch to 5k is an AWESOME program, I actually wish I had done it. I just kinda threw my fatass on the treadmill and did whatever. If I had a more structured training program I might be better off now. Keep us updated if/when you start it
Wow, great job Steve. Glad you got yourself started. Looking forward to following your marathon training. You can do it!
I am thinking of joining the St. Patrick’s day 5k but, it will be outdoors and I am a wuss when it comes to the snow and the cold. However, the race will be on the trails in the city that I biked on in the summer and fall. They will be familiar but, lots of hills!
You should totally do it! No matter how cold it is, you won’t feel it once you actually start running. I don’t want any part of running in snow though, so I can understand your hesitation there. You can do it!
Wow, that rocks man!!! You look so mad in that photo, haha! Your time kicks ass too! Holy cow! You’ll be running a marathon before you know it!!!
Way to go!
Hehehe…you should see the photo taken of me going towards the finish line! Actually, you shouldn’t, its a hot mess of a photo and I look like I’m about to die
Grats on the 5k, and uh, yeah, you better get in gear!
Thanks, and yeah, I got my work cut out for me
that is so awesome. when are you running the 1/2 marathon? we could be ‘training’ buddies