Reflections on the Race

Now that the dust has settled from Saturday's 5K, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the race a bit.
Above all, I am extremely proud of what I have accomplished. Back in early July, I would have laughed in your face if you had told me I was going to run a 5K in two months. I never would have thought that I could make it this far this fast. 
Running the 5K race was such a tremendous accomplishment for me. 
Consider the following: 

• Two months ago, I could barely run for 1 minute
• I have never run a 5K in my life
• Earlier in the week before the 5K, I had pretty much decided that I was not going to run it because I wasn't ready 
• I wasn't technically finished with the C25K program (I skipped over Weeks 7 and 8)

I ran about 13-minute miles during the race, but all things considered, I'd say that's pretty darn good. I wasn't trying to win, I was just trying to finish. From here on out, I can focus on improving my time and becoming an even better runner. (I even treated myself to a new pair of running shoes...I think I deserve it, don't you?)
I had been to plenty of 5K races before, but I had never run in one. I didn't really know what to expect. I knew that there would be lots of people. I knew that there would be people who were WAY better at running than I was (and I was OK with that). I knew that it was going to be harder than anything I've ever done. That was about the extent of my knowledge on the matter. 

As I said, when they said "Go!" I had a quick moment of panic, realizing that I was running a race, and I had to finish. It was too late to change my mind. I had so many thoughts running through my head during the race. I can't even tell you what songs I heard...I barely even remember that I was listening to music at all. I had no idea where the mile markers were, so I never knew how far I had gone, and how far I still had to go. I didn't even know what 3.1 miles felt like because I had never done this before...ever. 
My thoughts changed rapidly from "Just keep going," to, "That's a pretty house," to, "I wonder how far 'till the end?" I thought about my whole journey up to this point. I thought about Oma (my grandma). I thought about all the people in the world who can't run. Throughout the whole thing, I just kept telling myself not to give up and not to stop. 

A few people passed me during the race: a woman who stopped to walk a few times and still beat me; an older man who appeared to be speed-walking instead of running; and a woman running with a stroller. That discouraged me a little bit, but I kept reminding myself that there were still people behind me, so that made me feel better. 
When I finally reached the finish line, it felt so good to hear people cheering for me - even though I was one of the last people to finish. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was crying, I was laughing, I was proud... I let out a big "YES!" when I crossed the finish line. I had done it. Compared to all the "good" runners, I did terrible, but compared to myself, I did awesome. I was surrounded by people who love me and support me, and it felt great. 

And so, with that...I leave you with this: