JFK Miles for Minds 5K

I recently read that a goal doesn't become real until you write it down.  It becomes something tangible to strive for.  It's now time for me to start checking some stuff off the list.  Since I began running I kept saying I wanted to run in a race.  Last week I wrote it down and Sunday it became a reality.  I ran in the JFK Miles for Minds 5k in Edison, NJ. 

I wasn't really sure how to prepare for the race besides run a couple times the week before.  Then all of a sudden an e-mail popped into my inbox titled "Expert Advice for Race Day".  Well isn't that convenient.  The e-mail gave me many useful tips including:

• Eat a carb heavy meal stay very hydrated the day before
• Get there early (More important than you think)
• Be a tortoise, not a hare (Pace yourself)
• Run the tangents (shortest distance between two points)

All of these tips came in extremely handy and gave me a good set of tools to use for the race. When I got there registration was hectic.  I accidently pre-registered for the 1 mile fun run.  I didn't come all this way to run 1 mile.  Luckily the organizers let me switch my registration for the race. They handed me my first race bib (conveniently number 323, anyone that knows me will understand the significance, 23 is even tattooed on my foot). This was a good sign.  Amy, Mason and I lined up towards the back of the pack since she was going to be pushing Mason and we didn't want to get in anyone's way.  We were standing there talking and all of a sudden the gun went off.  Time to race!

My research taught me to break the race down into four sections: 

The Yellow Mile (Mile one time 10:16):  

Run this at the slowest pace, get a feel for it and wait for the pack to separate.  I felt really good at the start.  I took off from the line fast but quickly my practice came to mind and I slowed down my pace.  Of course the first half mile was straight uphill.  I was still among a lot of the crowd for the first mile.  I knew I needed to stay patient and stick to my plan to get through the race. 

The Orange Mile (Mile two time 9:41):  

Run at a little faster pace, starting to find my place among the pack.  The first mile felt like it took forever.  I wanted to speed up but I held off.  As soon as I started mile two I picked up the pace. This is where I encountered my first and much needed water station.  I grabbed a quick drink and continued on my way.  I passed Amy and Mason as I was running back and gave them a quick wave as I went by.  It felt good to see them and gave me a little extra motivation to continue on.  I started to separate from the first part of the pack and fell into my own pace.  Now I had a little more room and felt like I could breathe.  Half way done already!

The Red Mile (Mile three 8:36):  

Run at almost my fastest pace, starting to pass the runner's who started off too fast.  As I started mile three I began to cramp a little.  I came too far now to not finish what I started though.  I pushed myself through the pain and set my eyes on the finish line.  I was now running pretty fast and was passing many of the people that blew by me in the beginning.  Boy did that feel good, pacing myself was well worth it.  As I came around the last turn I could see the finish line!

The Fire 10th (Last .11):  

Full out sprint as fast as you can for the finish line.  I saw the clock as I came to the end of the race.  I started running as fast as I could and was running by a ton of people.  I even heard some people comment on how fast I was going.  I had my goal in sight and I wasn't going to let it slip away.  This was it!

When I began the race my goal was to finish in under 30 minutes.  I had run 5k before on my own and my previous best time was 32:30.  I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I looked at my time when I finished and saw a 29:20.  I did it!  I know 5k may be nothing for some, but this was the first thing I had put my mind to in a long time and to be able to follow through and complete my goal felt like the greatest feeling in the world. This gave me hope again that if I put my mind to something I can do it.  The moral of the story is "stop talking and do it".  I've learned that nothing is going to happen by talking and plan on taking a lot more action soon, all of which you will hear about.  

If anyone is interested, here is the link to all my stats from the race:

JFK Miles for Minds 5K