Saturday, August 10, 2013

Biggest Loser Run/Walk 5K

It's been a busy week for me as I've started getting ready for the new school year, so I didn't have time to write this entry until now. But I'm very excited to share the results of the race from Sunday.

Great news: I set a new PR!!!

Let's start from the beginning. It was a beautiful and sunny day by the lakefront, and I was feeling good about running. I always feel slightly anxious right before the start of a race, and Sunday was no exception. Those feelings began to go away, though, once I loaded up my interval app and just focused on doing what it told me to do. So many times before, I've floundered during 5Ks because I wasn't sure how long I should run, or if I was taking too many walk breaks, but with the app, I knew that I would have a better race.

The course started behind Soldier Field and then took us south through McCormick Place and a little bit of the lakefront trail before looping up north again. Compared to the race in Rockford, I felt that this one had a lot more open space for everyone to use. Even when there was traffic moving in both directions on the trail, I never felt that I was being severely slowed down without anywhere to maneuver.

This is probably the best photo ever taken of me while I'm running. Usually I look distressed and ready to pass out.

I'm glad that I used RunKeeper during the race, since the only mile marker I saw was for the first mile. By the time I got to mile 2, I couldn't believe that I was almost done. My average pace was looking great, and I kept pushing forward because I knew that I could get the new PR that I've wanted for over a year now. 

The finish line! I knew I had set a new PR, so you can see me there in the middle throwing up my hands in victory.

Right before I got to the finish line, I (almost literally) ran into Dolvett, one of the trainers from the Biggest Loser show. Most of the other runners and walkers were giving him high fives, but apparently I have no shame at all, because I ran up to him and asked, "Can I have a hug?" Dolvett happily obliged and then, in typical Biggest Loser trainer fashion, screamed at me and told me to keep going to the finish line.


Later that evening, I did a happy dance when I saw my official results.

Time: 43:13
Pace: 13:56/mile

!!!

Looking back on this, I think it was unrealistic for me to expect to complete the 5K in 42 minutes at this point in my training, since I hadn't factored in running on inclines, running around other people, etc. The more I keep training, I have no doubt I'll be able to get there. For now, though, I'm incredibly proud of myself for setting a goal of a new PR, figuring out which steps I needed to take in order to improve, doing those steps, and actually achieving the goal.

If the Biggest Loser Run/Walk comes back to Chicago next summer, I would definitely run it again. This time, the race was much more organized, and the results were even posted the same day! I'm glad that they seem to have listened to the feedback that people gave them in previous races and made some changes for the better.

So, as I'm writing this, my countdown clock in the sidebar is telling me that the Chicago 10K is a mere 15 hours, 43 minutes, and 11 seconds away. Part of me is still terrified to do this longer race that I've never done before, but I know I can do it. I've done the seemingly impossible before, so it's time for me to figure out what else I'm capable of.