30 before 30: #4 Run a 5k or maybe even a 10k

I've always wanted to be a runner but never really believed it was something I could achieve. I mean, how many runner friends do you have who say "Yeah, I used to hate running too but now 5 miles is nothing." Oh please!

Well... 5 miles still feels like a lot to me, but a 5k? I can do that. I did that yesterday before breakfast :)

When I heard about the Giant Race and getting to finish ON THE FIELD at the ballpark, I knew it was the race I wanted to shoot for to fulfill my 30 before 30 5k. So I recruited some buddies, bought the "Get Running" app for my iphone, and had gave myself plenty of time to get from zero to runner.

I remember every step of the way to get from 1 minute intervals... to 2 minutes... 5 minutes... 8 minutes!! I couldn't believe when I was running 8 whole minutes in a ROW! It makes me feel almost foolish to admit that those were legitimate milestones that I had to train for, sweat for, and discipline myself in order to accomplish.

My most vivid training memory was when I was running outside in Tahoe and listening to "Glorious" by Newsboys, surrounded by mountains and snow and trees and sky and just feeling light on my feet and light in my soul. I remember realizing that I'm not trying to be a runner anymore... that I *am* a runner.

I spent the last few weeks trying to squeeze in training runs between classes and clinicals and ended up with two goals for the race: 1. Run the whole thing. 2. Do it in under 35 mins. I knew with Jenn Kleist at my side with her "Don't Stop Believin' 5k" mix blaring and encouragement flowing, it would be a piece of cake. We all went to the game on Friday night (I never thought I would be praying for a win against the Astros, but good job Giants!) and came back to my house to sleep before the race on Saturday am.

It was FREEZING at the starting line, but Matt Cain (!) was there to start us off down on the south side of the China Basin. The route took us from there around the park by Willie Mays Plaza, up the Embarcadero to the turnaround at the Ferry Building, and back down to the ballpark. Along the route was a gospel choir from Oakland (awesome), a cheer squad (only in SF would there be a 20:1 male to female cheerleader ratio!), and a bunch of family/friend onlookers. I felt GREAT the whole race... just so exciting to be around THAT many people running, running alongside my friends, and reflecting on how far I had come.

To end the race, we turned into the ballpark and were hit with a bunch of cheering friends/family in the stands as we ran along the track to the finish line. I could not stop smiling. Man, what it must feel like to play on that field and look up at the stands at a sell out game! It's so beautiful and loud and energizing. We got our medals... and water, yogurt, bananas, bagels, cliff bars, coconut waters... Timmy bobbleheads... and race tshirts. Yay for swag! There were tons of booths to visit, more runners coming in, and a kids race to watch (so cute!) before we left and went to get a well-deserved bloody mary at 21st Amendment :)

The final results are in and I met both my goals! Definitely ran the whole race and came in at 33:49. Here are the full 5k stats:
Overall: 1290 out of 3466
Women: 612 out of 2129
F 25-29: 181 out of 500
Finish: 33:49 Pace: 10:54

Thoughts on all this:
I'm thankful to my friends who agreed to do this with me and stuck it out from training to finish line. I was so much more motivated in the training I did alone this summer just by knowing August 27th would come and I'd be running with you. So THANK YOU Nicku, Renee, Jenn, Jen, Jess, and Higuera (yay for doing our first race together!).

I'm going back and forth on if I am surprised I did this or not. I feel like I really knew all along I would do it and do it well, but I remain amazed at what we can make our bodies do if we are mentally disciplined enough to do it. Four months ago, I couldn't run a mile. Now I can run 3.1 miles and feel great about it. It's something I have stuck with for no other reason than I set a goal for myself and I wanted to achieve it. So I did. And I'm proud.

Finally, the elephant on the blog is that this 30 before 30 specifically says "Run a 5k and maybe even a 10k." Let's just put it out there in the universe here and now that next year will be the 10k. And I'm STOKED.