Boston's Run to Remember (Read 685 times)

Hey all, I just signed up for my very first race! The Boston's Run to Remember 5-miler. There's also a 1/2 marathon, but I thought a 5 miler was a good place to start I'm very excited and nervous! Yikes! Is anyone else doing this race? Kimmer

Kimmer, that is awesome! When will it be? k

Good luck Kimmer! I have my first race in three days and I am feeling the bite of nerves but a lot of excitement too. I've really enjoyed training with a purpose and the race has helped keep me on track. Now all I need is some of that race day magic that they talk about. Can you buy it online I wonder? It will be great if you see Mike there. Living over here in NZ I guess the chance of me getting to run with any of you is a remote one. I'm a little jealous that some of you get to meet up in the real world. Claire xxx

Unless you're planning on winning I wouldn't worry about where you're going to place in your first race. Glancing at your log, it looks like you've been gradually ramping up your mileage just fine. Don't sweat it. Don't get swept up with the jackrabbits at the beginning, know what pace you want to run, stick with that pace & you'll do great.

So, now that it's slightly sunk in that I'm actually going to be doing a race in May, I'm suddenly super-nervous. What if I can only run 15+ minute miles and I'm totally last? Will it be totally embarassing for me and my family if I cross the line totally alone and very very late? Anyone have any words of wisdom on running in the back of the pack? Wingz, I know you've been there. Help a sista out? Kimmer

I agree with everyone - don't worry about it. With four or five months of training under your belt, you are going to do just fine. Btw, one idea would be to convince a friend to train and run the race with you.

So, now that it's slightly sunk in that I'm actually going to be doing a race in May, I'm suddenly super-nervous. What if I can only run 15+ minute miles and I'm totally last? Will it be totally embarassing for me and my family if I cross the line totally alone and very very late? Anyone have any words of wisdom on running in the back of the pack? Wingz, I know you've been there. Help a sista out? Kimmer

Sorry for the late response, Kimmer, I just saw this. Running at the back of the pack's not that hard... It's running at the front where all the pressure is. Looking at last year's results, it seems there were several people who were running more than 15-min miles. I've come close to being last on several races, but there's always been one or two people who were literally out there just walking at a casual pace... and I got to finish ahead of them. Looks like you don't need to worry about being dead last either. The rest isn't very predictable because a lot depends on you - how you've trained, if you're hurt, how you're feeling, and how you run the race. One good thing about being at the back of the pack is that a lot of faster runners will hang around and cheer you on as you're finishing. It feels really good to be cheered on by the gazelles when, huffing and puffing, you cross that finish line giving it everything you've got (which ain't much by that point, LOL). Since I don't have to worry about winning, I try to treat a race like it's a chance for me to show off (mostly to myself) what I've accomplished since the last time I raced. Since this is your first race, you've accomplished RUNNING. Which is way cool! Five miles probably seems like a really long distance to you right now, but I completely believe that you'll be able to work up to it in time. Any time you make will be a PR worth bragging about, and you should be sure to brag to all your non-runner friends that you just ran a race that was 5 miles long!!! You'll be fine. Keep training well. Don't try to keep up with anyone, especially at the beginning. Let them all pass you at the start - it'll save a lot of energy for you to use as you pass some of them right before the end... Good luck!