Conquering Fears - TIA 5K

I am a runner and anyone that knows me knows this. There is one thing about running that scares me to death and that I avoid at all costs because of the anxiety it causes.... its called a 5K

Now, with the amount of miles I log a week and the number of races that I place #1 in my age group, it would seem odd that 3.1 miles would cause such panic in me. But, it does. So what typically happens, is the marathon season comes and goes and then I don't register for any races for the entire spring/summer.

This weekend I ran/raced a 5k. I faced the fear and I did it. All week leading up to Saturday I was stressing out and dreading the sound of my alarm clock. I didn't know what to expect, but I was definitely expecting the worst.

Saturday came, the alarm clock went off and I was up. I did my usual coffee and oatmeal and then headed to the race. I met up with my friends Jen and Sarah. They are super speedy with 5k's and have been training hard core for some fast times. They were shocked to see me there because they also know how I feel about these races.

We did our warm up and towed the line. I kept telling myself to just maintain a 7:30 average pace and if I felt good at mile 3 to take off.

First Mile: 6:48

I was feeling good, I wasn't hating life, so I kept it up.

Mile 2: 6:54

Still feeling good and suprised at how fast it was going by

Mile 3: 6:45

I came in at 19:30

The course was short. It only measured 2.9 miles. I was a little upset by this because I wasn't hating the race and would love to see how I could have finished with a true 5k. I predict I would have still finished under 21:00.

I was really happy with how I felt and how I did. I was still in pain from the workout I did on Wednesday at 1441 and I also have not done a tempo run in the past year. I now have this urge to start backing off on the miles and start picking up some speed to see what I have in me. I can't even believe I feel this way!!

When we got back I jumped on my bike and got 16 miles in so I could flush the muscles out.

I am so happy I faced the fear and did the race. I am not as fast as I would like to be, but now I have the desire to get better and to put the fear behind me!!!!