Mother's Day Classic - 8K (Read 308 times)

Hi All! Yesterday I had my first 8K race (only my second race ever). We got up at 6am. Being Mother's Day my husband and 5yo decided to come and watch the race (our 18month old didn't have a say). I was happy for them to come, it was very special to know they were there supporting me. The race was to start at 7:30am, so we grabbed the bags I had packed the night before ang climbed in the car at 6:45am. I tried not to stress, by that time the kids were chirpy and happy, they are early risers. I made it to the location at 7:15am after my husband dropped me off at a traffic light, fortunately I encountered some other people going in the same direction. I put my jumper in storage, got some safety pins, and headed to the start line after my friend Mark failed to materialize...or maybe I was just a bit later than agreed... The start line was in front of the Art Gallery, which is a great old building, we could see it through the tall trees, it's all still very green and lush. The race sponsors breast cancer research, some of the enters wore a dedication on their backs to a loved one who was/is afflicted with breast cancer, a minute of silence was held. I felt a bit emotional at this point as my late grandmother had breast cancer. But the atmosphere was a positive one, in such a beautiful setting. Off we went, I had a slow start and was feeling a bit unsettled by all the people passing me. I had never done this course before, so it was nice enjoying the spectacular views as they appeared, the Sydney Opera House on one side and huge ship on the other, a fisherman standing on the rocks with the longest fishing rod I've ever seen...anyway, I was starting to get distracted by things going around me and to ignore the pain, that's how I knew I was strating to get warmed up. There were dozens of women dressed in pink, lots of clubs running...soon I was left with ther other slowish runners and run/walkers. I wasn't being passed too much any more. I saw my family at the start of the second lap, they were waving still with little happy faces. My husband tok a photo at the time that I look down to catch our toddlers sight, so the photo shows the top of my head. Never mind, there were professional photographers on the way. The second lap was great, I was comfy and was able to pass some other people I couldn't catch up to on the first lap. I got talking to a girl who mentioned that she was also doing the 4Km walk with her mom after that. We turned a corner where one of the older and louder volunters kept shouting "you can better than that!, stop the chit chat and run! go, go, go! " we just cracked up. It turns out that while I was trying to keep up with her, she was trying to keep up with me. Anyway, she slowed down to walk up the hill, but my legs were happy to keep going. It was at about 5.5 kms into it and I actually felt stronger, my pace and breathing were even. My water bottle had stopped annoying me, so I picked up the pace. I saw a lady runner in front of me 1km before the finish line, her friends, who had already finished, were cheering her up from the grassy area. She was doing alright, but all of the sudden she started walking, her friend jumped in from the sidelines. He looked fresh and strong and I found myself tagging along, taking in his energy. I crossed the finish line under 58 mins, I was expecing 64 mins, so I was feeling pretty happy My boys weren't a the finish line, I still don't know where they were, probably at the jumping castle. My friend Mark was there, he saw me as I turned the last corner. It was nice that he came to cheer me up at the end. Soon the 4km race started and I was at the finish line, boy did some people run fast...the most impressive was the first young girl (maybe 11 or 12) . I absolutely loved watching the finish, the children were very impressive, the families, the oldies, the girlfriends, the ones dressed in costumes, the celebrities. My friends Eva and Mark and Mark's wife, I enjoyed so much cheering them up. Behind me I could hear two boys who had just finished: "where's your mom?" "she's not through yet" "my mom beat your mom" "I beat you...and your mom" I just smiled, it was all so cool, I thought I gotta do this more often... i found my boys who were over it by then and wanted to go home. On our way out of the parking lot my husband announced that he'll be starting the C25k program this week. I said to him "go for it, you're going to love it" Thanks for reading