Lanier Under the Lights

I ran the Lanier under the Lights 5k this evening.  I’ve spend a lot of time at Lake Lanier this events. Zooma, IG, MNT and now this one. I feel like I’m forgetting something. At Zooma, I cursed the course. IG, I was so happy to be out of the lake, that I laughed and cheered throughout the bike and run courses. MNT, I don’t remember much. It was so close to IG that I don’t think it mattered much. Finally LUTL. My goal for this run was simple. Run the entire 5k. Funny, how I’d forgotten the course would be hilly. Over the last month, I’ve been working on different types of workouts. I’d even practiced calming myself during hill runs, reminding myself to slow down instead of walking. All of the practice came into play this evening. I started fast, probably too fast, but quickly reminded myself to slow down and run my race. As I watched your children zip by, I didn’t’ allow myself to get caught up in their excitement. I reminded myself, stay present in this moment. Don’t worry about the next hill, half mile, or mile. Stay focused with the current and next steps… that’s it, that’s all. Reminding myself to do that worked. Before, I knew it, the 1 mile sign passed.

I’ve been on the course often enough to know that we were heading toward the back for mile 2.  This meant  a series of hills, up and down, up and down, so had to pace myself.  I didn’t want to go too fast on the downhill [although I was tempted].   I don’t remember if it was Kermit or JoJo who reminded me to use the time to recover and prepare for the next uphill.  I did that and remembered to breathe deeply and relax my belly [don’t hold it in].

Although I felt good, the two hills in mile three were too much. I so didn’t want to stop and made it through the first hill. I was going slow, plugging along during the second hill but needed to walk 20 steps to regroup. Although the goal was non-stop run, I don’t feel bad. Those 20 steps allowed me a bit of rest and a chance to regroup.  I completed the hill, then rounded the corner to the finish. Good thing it was downhill, thanks to the uphill start   It felt good to stretch out and stride across the finish line. Although initially hesitant to run a 5k, I now realize why people complete them.  It was a nice feel good opportunity to gauge my progress. 

I’ll probably look for an upcoming jingle jog and register for it.  One of the best parts of the evening was hanging out with Debbie, Jan, Scott, and new friend Rachel afterward.

Keep moving forward.