Race Day!

Today was the St. Pat's 4 Miler.  I set a goal for myself in January to run this race without walking and....I DID IT!

This was my very first road race and the 3rd time I have ever run outside.  I was pretty nervous leading up to the whole thing.  The night before I was dreaming about running....and eating (while I was running).  Weird.  We got to the gym early, checked in and got our official t-shirts (the real reason I ran the race).  Then we waited.  When it was race time everyone went out and lined up.  It was exciting.

People were passing me from the get go.  It was a little intimidating but I just focused on running my own race.  Dave and my friend Mary ran with me.  We finished the first mile in just under 10 minutes.  That is a personal best for me.  We continued to run.  

At about mile 2.25 we had some fans cheering us on.  My baby-sitter and her son were standing on the corner and then a couple blocks up my mom and the boys were waiting for us.  It was so nice to see them all supporting me!   

The last mile of the race had a hill.  Not huge, but still it was a hill.  I worked hard and made it to the top and then it was a race to the finish.  Once we hit the finish line street I tryed to pick up my pace a little.  I didn't want any other people passing me...and I actually passed some people.  Right before the finished line I heard "Go, Mrs. Walker!".  It was a student from last years class cheering me on!  It was so sweet.  What a nice way to cross the finish line! 

I finished the race without stopping and I didn't come in last place! 

My official time was 40:41 (again, a personal best).  That's a little over a 10 minute mile and I had previously only been running an 11 minute mile.  I finished in 578th place out of 735 runners.  So I beat over 150 people!  Not bad for my first time!

I am feeling very accomplished and proud of myself.  I am actually looking forward to running another race...I just have to decide if that will be a 5K or a 1/2 marathon. 

Hmmm....how hard do I actually want to work in the next 9 weeks??  Stay tuned....


My running partner & hubby.
He stayed with me the whole time! 

Friends & co-workers Mary and Jim.
I finished the race with  Mary!