It is Friday morning, the day before my first official 5k race. There is an inch of snow on the ground in my backyard, and the weather for tomorrow is showing rain mixed with snow.
Let me tell you how excited I am about it.
I am still really looking forward to tomorrow, but my excitement is clouded with aprehension about running in snow or pouring rain. I am not a seasoned runner. In fact I don't own any sort of clothing that will prepare me for either condition. I have a light cotton yoga jacket that i have been using for all my runs. This has served me well, but it will definitely chill me to the bone if I run in it while all wet. I have a winter toque. I don't own a ballcap. I am a little concerned in what I am going to run in if its horribly wet out tomorrow. My last 5 or so races have helped me work a bit on my time, and pace myself properly. My partner and I have had some really good runs, and a few really crappy ones. If tomorrow is crappy, at least we will have a crappy run together.
Our time has been coming in right around the 41-42 minute range, so if we can run under 42 minutes, I will call it a huge success. In all honesty, I will be thrilled just to cross the finish line knowing I didn't stop for a walk break.
I pick up my race kit tonight, and I have no idea what is supposed to be in it. It's like getting a present I suppose. Maybe there is some free goodies in there? I like free shit:)
The funny thing is even with the shitty weather, the thought of not running tomorrow never crossed my mind. Ok.. maybe for a split second I thought "I think I would rather be in bed" but the thought quickly passed and regardless, I am excited for tomorrow. In the end, its about 45 minutes for me. While definitely not the greatest of conditions, It will be a story at the end. And that is what it is all about.
So exciting! I can't wait to hear about it. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you've worked up to running solidly, rather then run/walk intervals. It's easier to keep your temperature steady when you're running steady. Running in the rain probably won't be too big a deal. If it's in the budget, it might be worth it to pick up a hat with a brim. It's really nice to have when it's raining to keep it off your face, and if you keep running, you'll get lots of use out of it.
I always do okay running in the rain; it's afterwards that I tend to get very quickly chilled. I suggest parking underground at Eau Claire - it's only $2 on the weekends. And, bring a change of clothing, including shoes and socks. That way you can get dry.
(When you get home, put newspaper in your shoes to dry them out. It draws the moisture out. Change the newspaper when it gets really wet.)
Oh, and running room races don't have very exciting race packages. :( I'm not saying that to be a downer, just so you aren't expecting more and get disappointed. It will probably be your free shirt and race number. Maybe some coupons. Make sure they include safety pins to put the number on. Sometimes they forget and then you have to scramble to find some.
Have a great race! Looking forward to reading all about it!