Welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics. Today’s topic – Share your first race experience!
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Let’s go back in time. When I was in high school, I ran outdoor track for one season during my freshmen year. After that I didn’t really run again until college, and that was on a treadmill in the gym. Other than that, I wouldn’t revisit running again until I was 30. I just never “loved” running and always said the only reason you would see me running is it I was being chased.
When I started getting into fitness, I started with Zumba. I loved it and then I started adding in boot camp and spinning classes, but still never gave running a second thought…until I started participating in a local cancer event in my city. The Hope in Motion Walk & Run has been around for 20+ years. For a few years my family, friends and I participated in the 5K walk. One year I arrived to the event pretty early and saw the start of the 5K run. I’m not sure why but I was inspired to run the event the following year. I announced this to my crew and they all laughed, but I was serious!
Since we literally had no idea how to train for the race, I pulled a 5K training plan out of a magazine, probably Runner’s World, and we followed that. We ended did a test run on the route – let’s just say that didn’t go well and we all felt like we were going to die – but it was good practice, I guess?!
Finally it was race day. My mom, friend and I were super nervous but we knew that we prepared as well as we could. This race always takes place in June and this particular day it was pretty warm. I tried to ignore the heat and just focus on my breathing. I took the first mile pretty slow which was great because I didn’t want to start out too fast and suffer during the last half of the race. At around mile 1.5 we hit a pretty big hill and I decided to walk that in order to save my legs. I ran the downhill and then settled back into a pace for the last half of the race.
When the finish line was in sight I started to get super excited and then I started sprinting to the finish line. In hindsight, not the smartest idea but I couldn’t contain my excitement! I still remember crossing the finish line and automatically being greeted by a volunteer holding a bottle of water and giving it to me and then directing me to the post-race food tent. After I allowed myself to rest for 5 minutes, I really focused on my achievement and couldn’t believe that I, someone who hated to run for a minute, just completed a 5K. After that point I knew that running would be a part of my life until I couldn’t do it anymore.
Do you remember your first race?
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What a great memory of your first 5k! Isn’t it strange how must of us somehow “slipped” into running? I can’t even remember how I started running, I just did it because I loved it. I do remember my first marathon, though! That was a disaster due to a complete lack of knowledge. Live and learn!
I agree – I find that most of us just “slipped” into it, lol.
For sure. I local 5k. I had only run one mile so I was planning on walking the last two. Run the whole thing and immediately signed up for another. Hooked from that day on.
That’s a great first 5K experience!
Yet again, we’re #Kimtwinning, this time on our experience in running. My first several races were fails, in that I didn’t know the first thing about training. I thought training was for “real runners” and I was far from that ideal. I wish I’d had a crystal ball LOL
No surprise there! So funny to look at how we started vs where we are now!
I don’t remember my first race, but I know it was a 5k in Chicago. I was living in the city then and I did a training program through CARA. I was so intimidated! but it turned out to be a life long love affair!
That’s awesome that you were able to do training plan through CARA!
Your experience sounds a lot like mine, down to the race being in June & always hot, LOL!
I did train for it. You probably know by not that I’m terribly impulsive, so I trained for it for a year! By myself. While there’s that training group for it that I’ve mentored in the past few years — if only I’d known!
That takes a lot of courage to train solo for your first race!
Fun memories! I do remember my first 5k. It was SUCH a big deal to me back then. That said after that first 5k it took me 8 years to do another. Go figure.
Oh wow, I never knew you had a gap between your first and second 5K!
This is a great memory! My first race was a 5K too – thank goodness for the couch-to-5K plans! I remember that I picked the race because it was one of the few that offered a medal for a 5K LOL!
Oh that was smart! I wish my first 5K offered a medal but they just gave us a typical cotton race shirt, lol
Fun memories indeed! I actually have no memory at all of my first race! I need to think about this. Fun post
I had to really dig deep in my memory vault to remember details about my first race. I feel like it was ages ago!
I think you may have had the smartest first race ever: slow start, saving energy by walking a hill, and then sprinting to the finish. My first race was a 10k and it wasn’t bad but it was just a big meh, I was expecting some kind of magic to happen and it didn’t. I was never going to run another race but a few years later my inlaws asked me to run with them at a 5k and that’s where the magic happened and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Looking back, it’s probably the smartest race that I’ve run lol.
I love hearing about everyone’s first race experience! Mine was the NYC half. Don’t ask me why, someone who hated running, decided to start with a half marathon, but I’ve been hooked ever since.
Wow that was an ambitious first race, but also you picked a really fun half marathon!
Such a fun memory! My first race was the 2013 Chicago Marathon! When I think back to that, I can’t believe how crazy (and brave!) I was!
Your first race was a marathon?! Whoa, bravo to you!
What a fun memory! Good for you, lady! And look, you’ve been in love ever since. 😉
Hmm I wouldn’t say love, but I’ve been in “like” ever since LOL
I’m glad you had such a positive first race experience! :]! My first (of uh, two total..) race was the Nike Women’s Marathon! I unfortunately didn’t fall in love with running, but I do still like short-distance sprints!
Although it wasn’t a great experience, at least you now know that you prefer shorter distances!
I can relate to this I’ve always hated running and exercising. But falling in love with the process got me hooked. I have recently been running more and I’m not going to lie I’m starting to enjoy it. Maybe it’s the beginning of something.
Yup, that’s so key – falling in love with the process! And I’m glad to hear that you’re learning to love running more 🙂
I love it that your mom did your first race with you as well!! go mom!!
I definitely know what you mean about that accomplishment feeling! I remember my first race too! I skipped over the 5 and the 10K and went straight for a 12KM run that was 5KM on the race track, 3 on the beach and 4 through the beach village. Had I known this was the course I doubt I would have done it LOL!! It was hard, I made many mistakes but in the end I did it! From then on I was hooked!
That takes a lot of guts to pick a longer distance for a first race – kudos to you!!
First race stories are so great! I remember my first and it is still my favorite 5k ever.
I still look back on my first 5K with such found memories!
My first race was also a 5K. But you definitely remember more about it, not me. 🙂
lol it took me a while to remember all the details!