Thursday, November 3, 2011

My 5th 5K-Niagara Falls International Marathon 5K

My 5th 5K. Let me say that again, my 5th 5K! I never thought during my days in cross country in high school when I would consistently come in last that I would one day be running 5K’s for fun and LOVING IT!! I never thought I would beat those demons and bad memories of my family watching their loved one always coming in last, feeling that I have constantly disappointed them. Well no more. Not today. On my 5th 5K, the Niagara Falls International, I beat those demons and I came in with a strong 39:32 time, running an average 12:45 minute mile. I did not come in last by any means. I PR’d and I was exhilarated!! Now, that time may not seem like something to brag about for some people but for me it’s a huge accomplishment. I began running in February using a Couch to 5K program and have gone from near a 17 minute mile down to below a 13 minute mile. I think that speaks volumes in terms of my progress.
It was a magical day, disregarding my usual pre-race anxiety that was only intensified by the added stress of crossing the border. We got to the race early, which gave me time to stretch and take my energy gel. The route was fairly scenic and was an out and back course so I got to run along the mighty Niagara twice while listening to the roaring of the water crashing over the brink of the falls. As is typical of any race, the first few hundred meters or so are spent slowly jogging or walking as the crowd disperses. However, this time a group of walkers chose to start at the beginning of the start line only to block off and bottleneck the runners out of the gate. Once I got free from the group it was clear sailing until I noticed a hill. Ugh! That was the only thought that crossed my mind at first until I remembered that this was an out and back course and that hill would help me at the finish line. So, I remembered what I had read in Tom Holland’s book “The Marathon Method”. He says to use hills to your advantage. On the uphill, use more of your upper body, pumping your arms to get you up the hill. On the downhill, let gravity take you and don’t use too much steam. Remembering that tip really helped and I made up the hill with no problem. Up until the turn around, I noticed many of the 10K racers coming in (they started an hour ahead of us). At the first hydration station, I gratefully took a cup of the Canadian version of Gatorade. It wasn’t too bad and gave me something else to focus on. I did have my watch on and finally remembered to hit the start button as I crossed the start line, however, it wasn’t giving me my heart rate. I usually rely on this to let me know if I’m going too fast. Oh well, I was feeling great and wasn’t going to stop. Typically, I repeat a word or phrase in my mind to keep me going. On this day, my words were “determination” and “push”. I knew I was doing well because my target person had not passed me yet. As I got closer to the turn around I noticed my husband passing me. I was so excited for him and I cheered, clapped, and yelled “Go honey, go. I’m so proud of you”. He says to me “You’re almost at the turn around. You’re halfway there”. That gave me the push I needed. I made the turn around and the next hydration station. I grabbed a cup of water took a sip and started choking on it! What the hell?! How many races have I done and I can’t drink a cup of water? I slowed down to a walk to regain my composure. Thankfully, I only needed 20 second or so and I was back in the game. One thing I loved was that this race was marked with both kilometers and mile markers. The kilometer markers were much more helpful because they counted down much faster than the miles. This gave me a boost of confidence. After the 3K mark I noticed this man who was also sporting KT tape. As soon as I caught up to him, he started running again. He would repeat this pattern until the 4K mark. At first I was upset that someone was pacing themselves against me but then I realized that I was helping him. So feel free to use me as your pacer!!! At the 4K mark I looked at my watch…32:01! What?! I have less than a mile to go and I’m only at 32 minutes? How is this possible?? That gave me the motivation to push forward and that downhill really helped. I could see the large monitor that showed the crowd the runners coming in and there I was. I ran faster, turned the corner and there was the finish line…39:45. Holy crap! I was going to break 40 minutes! I’ve never done that before! I pushed ahead and crossed the finish line at 39:49 clock time. I was elated and I raised my arms in triumph! I had done it. I was not last and I shaved 4 minutes off my race time from the Linda Yalem Run, only one month earlier. As I crossed all three timing mats I felt like I was treated as if I had won the race. Each person is given a bottle of water, a mylar blanket, a bag of goodies which consisted of an apple (yummy), a banana (double yummy), a small bag of chips (the salt really helped), and a granola bar (it was chocolate covered but contained gluten, boo!), and the best part was that EVERY person that crossed the finish line received a finisher’s medal!!! That’s the one thing that I loved about this event. Everyone is treated like a winner. The finisher’s medal is so nice. Here’s a quick pic of it:




Cool, huh?! I wore that medal proudly. I found Mark after I crossed and told him that I couldn’t believe my time. He gave me a hug and told me what his time was. We both did great!! We walked back to our car and switched out our sweaty clothing and I snacked on the apple and banana. I needed that! Once we were slightly refreshed we headed back over to near the finish line as we were hearing that the announcer was saying that some of the half marathon people were starting to cross the finish line. My good friend who encouraged me to get m Zumba license was running in her first half and had been training so hard for this day. I wanted to see her cross that finish line and cheer her on at the end. We found a spot near the curve toward the finish line and saw so many amazing people coming in from the half. Some looked beat, one girl threw up in front of us, and others made it look easy. I started cheering for everyone. These people earned it and everyone deserved someone cheering and clapping for them. It was also exciting to watch the pacers go by cheering on their group behind them. I saw my friend in the distance and I held up my sign I quickly made for her at the Brooks booth, and I cheered and yelled. “Go Kathy go! I am so proud of you. Go, go, go”! At first she just looked at me not realizing who I was and then once it registered she cheered too and yelled “Woo hoo”!! She was doing great. Mark and I quickly went to the finish line to find her and it took some time to find her amongst the sea of people. Once I caught up to her we gave each other a big hug, both crying at our accomplishments. She is an amazing person and always inspires me. She has always believed in me and celebrates all of my weight loss wins! I am so honored to call her a friend.
After a few photos and some impromptu dancing with my girls, Mark and I headed out. We wanted to do some touristy things since we had spent $18 to park and we don’t spend too much time on the opposite side of the Falls. We headed to the Journey Behind The Falls and the Visitor’s Center, snapping some pictures of the Horseshoe and American Falls from the Canadian side. What an amazing vantage point. The Journey was so amazing and it was a gorgeous sunny day so we headed out to the lower level viewing area giving us an amazing view of the Horseshoe Falls, which were cascading right above our heads. Although we were wearing a cheap throw away raincoat that they hand you as you pay your fee, we still were soaked. However, I didn’t care. I was awestruck by the beauty of the Falls in front of me. I’ve lived near Niagara Falls my entire life and every time I visit I am in awe of its beauty. I love waterfalls and could spend hours just staring at them. The sun and the mist coming off the Falls were producing beautiful rainbows…what a perfect end to a perfect day. Mark and I ended our day by treating ourselves to dinner. This was an amazing event and will certainly be on our list for next year. Who knows, maybe we will do the half marathon next year?!

Here's some more pics from the day:






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