Today I ran my first 8K.  I wasn't sure going in to this how it would go, because I haven’t been running much lately, due to shin issues.  I've only been “back” running for 2 weeks, and part of that I wasn't even running, due to being sick.   It was raining and gray this morning but fortunately the rain stopped just about at start time of the race.   When we went to line up, three of my faster friends headed towards the front of the crowd, while another friend and I held back, lining up in the 12-12:59 group.   My friend (I’ll call her M) and I both told each other that we’d probably end up walking parts of the race, and assured each other that we’d each be ok with the other going ahead.   Neither of us really intended to run together, we just happened to be lining up together.

The race started, and we took off, and basically got passed right away by a million people.  I’m used to it, because even though I line up where I should be, in large races there always seem to be people who don’t.  Anyway, we were running along at about a 12:30 pace when we hear a tuba.  Yup, there was a guy playing Christmas carols on a tuba.  He freaking rocked, it was so much fun.  The first mile was a lot of laughing and clapping and just chugging along.  When we got to about 1.5 miles, M asked me how far we’d gone and I told her – and she said “Wow, that’s the longest I've ever run without walking!”   I think at that point, something in my mind clicked that we would be doing no walking today. 

When we got to 3.1 miles, I pointed out that she’d just run a 5K.  She whooped with joy.  She’s done a couple 5K races, but has always walked during them.  No walking today!  When we got to 4 miles, I could tell she was getting really tired.  I kept asking if she wanted to slow down, and she’d say yes, and then… we didn't   We just kept going.  When we got to 4.5 miles, I just started spewing encouragement pretty much non-stop.  She probably wanted to hit me.  I just kept saying ‘You got this. You can do this. You’re so close.’  Unfortunately, the finish line was not nearly as close as I thought.  Somehow, we ran the course really badly, because even though it was perfectly marked to be exactly 8K long, we ended up running well over 5 miles.  I felt bad when I realized that, but there was nothing I could do.  When we hit 5 miles according to my Garmin and could see the finish line, M said “Just go. It’s ok, go.”   I was scared she’d start walking, but I also wanted to really run it in, so I said “Swear you won’t walk!” and she said “I won’t” and I took off.  I crossed the finish line and my Garmin said 1:02:XX and 5.17 miles.  Whoops.  Really gotta get better at running tangents. LOL  

A minute later, M crossed the finish line and found me – she was feeling pretty rough, but I could tell she was so proud.  It was a really awesome thing.   It’s funny, because I can’t decide if I would have run faster without her, or if I would have ended up walking for at least a little bit, just because of my own stupid brain.  Either way, I’m so glad we got to run together today, and so excited that she ran the whole way. 

The only downside to the whole thing is that something got screwed up with my chip and I have no official results.  =(  I've sent emails, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll get straightened out, but if not, oh well.  I have it on my Garmin, and I know what I did.  That’s enough.  It was a good day. =) 

Thanks for reading! 

EDIT:  OMG, how did I not include the fact that I got to meet Rich (rpflash) and Jenn (BingoJenn)?!?  Man, obviously I am overly tired today.  Rich and Jenn were both working the race, doing packet pickup.  I was pretty sure that I recognized Rich from pictures, but was a little nervous to just say "Hey, do I know you from the internet?"  So I didn't say anything.  Then, a friend was getting her bib and she called out to me, "Hey, Diana!"  When I walked over to say hi, I heard a woman say "Are you Diana Martinez?"   I said "Uh, yeah"  and it was Jenn!  And right next to her was the guy that I had thought was Rich (it was him! LOL).   So I said hi but then left because they were so busy checking people in.   

After the race I went back to the tent to see if they were still there, and they were, so I got to chat for a few minutes, but they were still busy (people exchanging shirts, etc) so I left them to it.   It was very nice to meet them, and I'm hoping I'll get to see them again at other events! =)

Congratulations on running a great time in a fun race!  You are such a good friend, helping your friend all the way along and helping her run it in at the end!  I love that there was a tuba player there as well!  Hilarious.  It sounds like a blast!

That is so awesome that you were able to help your friend to the finish and still score a great race finishing time yourself. Congratulations Diana. Maybe you can travel north and get me across in that fast a time as well.

GREAT JOB!!! I know what you mean - like maybe you would've been too in your own head, or gone too fast at the beginning, who knows!   Either way sounds like it turned out great for both of you and big congrats!

Diana, here's hoping they fix it - you definitely earned that time like a trooper! Just think how far you've come in terms of running in 2012, back in January, did you ever think you'd run an 8k like this? 

Thanks, everybody! 

Greg - absolutely not! LOL  I am so happy with my first year of running, despite all the setbacks in the latter part of the year.  I can hardly believe that in a few weeks, it will have been a year since I took my first running steps.  Amazing.  I really and truly cannot wait to see what 2013 holds! 

Congrats, Di.  Awesome job.  Hope they fix the results soon!

And I agree with Greg.  You never imagined you would get this far so soon.  And now a HM next year!