the 5k [Damon Runyon race recap]

8AM alarm goes off. It’s 5k day! I eat a white chocolate macadamia luna bar, like every other day, get dressed in my race day outfit: lululemon power y + under armor shorts + brooks and walk over to Starbucks for the usual grande 5 pump soy chai.

back at my apartment I pack up my stuff while eating a peanut butter sandwich, as per usual. Soon enough my parents call me to tell me they are outside my building in the car.

It’s time to head over to Yankee Stadium. If you recall the last time I was there was a super special occasion:

my 22nd birthday AND graduation from NYU all smashed up into one magical day.

my outfit this time was a bit different….

I know it’s not the old stadium, but something about being there makes me happy whether it’s for a game, a graduabirthday or a race. As a third generation New Yorker and Yankee fan by blood, it gives me an odd sense of pride to be there.

My mother asked me in the car “are you excited?” Once I got to the stadium a rush hit me– that same rush of adrenaline and excitement that fills me when I enter the gates to Disney. Yes, I was incredibly freaken excited.

The organization at the Runyon 5K both years has been impressive– the line to get my packet was a breeze and finding my heat was clearly marked. It was time to pin on my number and wait. and wait. and wait. and wait.

I bid farewell to my parents who were off to cheer me on in the stadium.

As I anxiously waited for my heat to enter I couldn’t help but think about how vastly different I felt from last year. Last year I was participating with a group of my family and friends completely unsure what to expect– I had never done anything like this. Hell, I had barely even trained.

This year was different though, I was alone, but I felt so prepared. I’ve spent 9 weeks training for this event with couch to 5k, building up stamina and achieving something I never ever thought was possible. After spending all summer working towards this race, it felt unreal that it was finally here. This means summer is almost over, and this is the culmination of all those sweaty runs all summer long at 6:30AM. While a part of me could care less about how quickly I finished the race, another part of me didn’t want to be let down after all the hard work and training all summer long.

Before my heat started the race I overheard to girls saying to each other “I would never do this alone. You’ve got to really love running to do this alone”. Yes, I can understand this mindset, but it still took so much restraint to not give them a sassy response. Yeah, I was doing this alone, but that’s because ultimately I was doing this for myself. To challenge myself to do something I could not do 3 months ago…. And do I love running? This is debatable– the good days are oh so good, and the bad days are super bad. I’m pretty sure the only things in life I actually love are my family, my boy, my friends, musical theater and peanut butter. Everything else falls into the “really like” category”.
What I did realize at that moment is that I do enjoy running, enough to motivate myself to participate in a 5k alone, enough to motivate myself to wake up early even on those days I just wanted to snuggle up with my pillow. Even if I don’t love running at the time, I love the feeling after wards. And that sure as hell counts.

Back to the race….

Once inside the stadium, I knew it was almost time for my heat to run

the course was explained to us– it can be a bit confusing because many of the levels you have to run twice. The last words of advice said to us over a megaphone was “enjoy the run, it’s yankee stadium!” How true, it was all about having this cool experience, raising money, and running around Yankee Stadium.

ANDDDD at 11AM, we were OFF. Not gonna lie, I got a bit chocked up when the race began. This culmination of my summer and hard work mixed with the intoxicating energy the stadium was bursting with created this intense feeling. I was just so freaken happy and proud of myself all at once.

I start off the race slow and steady, trying to avoid my mistake of 2011 and running my butt off immediately because I was excited. With Green Day’s “Nice Guys Finish Last” blaring in my ears, I kept telling myself “you can do this, you can do this, you can do this”. Once I got started and felt my body click into rhythm is was easy. and fun.

(I’m still waiting for the official photos….)

The best part is definitely getting to run around the warning track. Spotting my parents and seeing them root me on behind home plate gave me an amazing burst of energy.

About half way through I realized I hadn’t seen any markers of how many miles into the race I was. I had a basic estimate of where I was knowing that I was hopefully running roughly at 10 minute mile. I wanted to do it in 30 minutes. So. Badly. But then came the stairs– lots and lots of climbing stairs around mile 2. It was impossible to keep my pace on the stairs, and it always took me a second to get back to running at a good pace after the stairs.

I felt like I was racing against the clock. It was no longer about running the whole thing, at this point in the race I knew I was going to run the whole dang thing. In my heart I wanted so badly to finish in 30 minutes, but the clock was telling me otherwise.

The final bit of the race is down a long winding ramp, one that you actually run twice during the course of the race. The second my foot hit that ramp  for the final time, I turned on Big D’s “LA X” and ran my little ass off. I have never run so fast in my life, knowing that I was so close to the finish line and I wanted to get there as fast as my body could. It was an amazing feeling to sprint across the finish line, putting every last bit of energy in.

While no, I didn’t finish in 30 minutes like I wanted to, I did run the whole thing, and finish in 32:25. not half bad. My finishing time last year was 41:26. Talk about improvement!

I might’ve been hot, sweaty, and the color of a tomato, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Because I did it, I did something that wasn’t possible 3 months ago.

As I munched on my victory bagel in the car, my parents and I discussed “soooo, what race can I run next”.

Hey, this 5k, this race, it’s only the beginning! I’m looking forward to my 6:30AM run tomorrow– who would have guessed?