However, I had no hesitation signing up (or paying!) for the BAA 5K. A race that I've never ran before. A race that many people wanted to run and play a part of the Boston Marathon weekend. A weekend like no other.
I was very excited to join 9,000 runners on Saturday, April 19th. A 9,000 5K RACE! HUGE! I don't even think a lot of marathons have a field of 9,000 people! But the BAA did such an amazing job accommodating the size and allowing people to run this as part of the Boston Strong campaign.
My usually race morning nerves didn't occur which was expected. No planned goal or expectations. I've been running slower lately (Baby N's decision) so just wanted to show up and experience the race a bit differently.
Outfit of choice: my new Fellow Flower and my customized Baby N shirt that I haven't worn in a while. It was perfect!
I live about 2+ miles from the race start so made that my warmup miles. I was shocked to see a 8:10 average pace which felt extremely easy. Down deep, I had a feeling that my leg were going to cooperate today.. but still had no plan.
I was greeted with so much love when I reached the park. It was PACKED! The energy was amazing and you can just tell people were ready to take back their city. Take back the Boston Marathon weekend.
Jim ended up taking the train in to meet me but since I was crunched for time I couldn't really celebrate with him beforehand. A quick hug, kiss and good luck butt squeeze is all I had time for... I then sprinted to the start to get a spot... and apparently between the 6:30-7:00 min pace group.
Gulp.
I wasn't the only one though. A few of us were stuck in that corral since we were late. We joked about the idea of holding that pace for... about... what? 1 minute!! I was up for the challenge. Unfortunately, we weren't the only people out of place. As soon as the gun went off we started to get into our own groove... BUT... there were so many people in the wrong corral that it took ME forever to find my own pace. I kept zigzagging for at least a 1/2 a mile.
My first mile was the slowest... and not by choice. But I wasn't too annoyed. I wasn't there to crush a PR... I wanted to run based on feel and just enjoy the race. (for a full detailed race recap... click here!)
I really love running the streets of Boston. A place I am so fortunate to run all the time. A place where I spent endless amount of time training for my marathons. It's been a while since I've crossed these streets so it was a nice 'welcome back' moment for me. I loved it.
Within the first mile, I saw a friend of mine off to the side and had enough time for a quick hug and a well needed picture! It was awesome.
After that, I just zoned out and let myself run the race which was led by my 'speedy' legs. I couldn't believe the pace and the effort. I had to focus on my breathing to make sure I didn't lose control but when I took that infamous left turn onto Boylston street (closing in on mile 2) ... I started losing it a bit.
But made myself push those emotions out of me and took in my surroundings while sharing this moment with my fellow runners. Crossing the marathon finish line (which wasn't our finish line) was something else. It really felt like a breath of fresh air... that suffocating feeling that I've been holding in for almost a year... was gone. I finally felt alive again.
Soon after I started to push the pace harder... knowing that Jim was going to be up ahead and before the finish line.
And he was <3
7:09 pace for my 3rd mile!? What?!! It was the motivation I needed to crush the final meters to the finish. And it was HARD but so worth it!! And when I crossed the finish... I realized that this was my last speedy hurrah before Baby N makes an appearance in September.
And I'm sooooo ok with that.
I couldn't ask for a better day. Between the runners, spectators, the BAA putting on a fantastic race, and for my husband... everything was just fantastic.
What a perfect way to start the Boston Marathon 2014 weekend!!
Overal Finish: 1220/8642
Gender: 300/5110
Division: 59/843
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