Last night I ran my first race, the Wall Street Run & Start! Heart Walk. This is a 3-mile walk/run that supports the American Heart Association. I went to the same race last year but ended up walking it. My main goal this year was to run the entire 3 miles even if that meant running extremely slow. The weather was completely opposite from last year’s race! Last year was cold and windy. This year it was 90 degrees!! I was pretty nervous about the hot weather but I think I’d rather be hot than cold!
I got to the race about 20 minutes early and waited around nervously until I found Dori and Melissa. There were tons of people…about 12,000!
Eventually I found Dori and Melissa. Dori brought me my race bib so her and Melissa quickly dressed me since the race was about to start! Melissa pinned on my bib and Dori attached my scoring tag to my shoe! I was too nervous to pin anything to myself! Luckily seeing them before the race calmed me down a lot!
I wore my heart rate monitor, an arm band for my iPod, and a Spibelt for my phone and keys. I also wore my new Omron Distance Tracker. The company sent me one to try out so I decided to see how accurate it was. I will be giving one of these away in a few weeks by the way!
I was kind of upset because I was not able to make a fun playlist for my first race. My laptop is broken so I have no iTunes! I decided to set my iPod on my 25 most played songs. It ended up being a good mix!
“Elements of Life” by Tiesto
“Sail” by Armin Van Buuren
“Burning Up” by Starkillers and Austin Leeds Remix
“When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta
“Yes We Can (Saw Mix)” by Houseshaker
“Feel the Love (Christian Marchi Main Extended Mix)” by Marchi’s Flow
“Sexy Bitch” by David Guetta
“Fallen” by Guiseppe Ottaviani
“Advanced (Trance Energy)” by Marcel Woods
“Comic Strip” by Orla Feeney
“Irish Adventure” by DJ Antoine & Mad Mark
“Move It” by DJ Antoine & MC Roby Rob
“Drops of Jupiter” by Filo & Peri
There may have been a few more but the whole race was a blur so I don’t remember. Every song on my iPod is house or techno so I knew I would have great music the whole time anyway! The race started and it took a while to actually start running. There were just so many people! The 3 of us started together but eventually I stayed behind and took my time jogging. I felt pretty good during the first mile. I had to weave in and out of a ton of people! I liked that I was passing some people! It definitely built my confidence a little bit! I knew I was running slow but I didn’t have a cramp and I could still breathe so I was happy. I was extremely hot though and really had to pee! I drank a Venti coffee during the day to give me some energy for the race. Bad idea. I figured it would make me go a little faster but it also made me shaky and extra nervous for the race!
Eventually I saw mile 2. By this point I was HOT. I was pretty much dying. I could not wait for the race to be over. My mouth was dry. I could not breathe. I knew I only had 1 mile left so I did not want to stop and walk! I kept thinking about the blog and how I really did not want to come back here today and tell everyone I had to stop and walk! Then I saw a hose shooting water onto all of the runners. YES!!! I passed a few people so I could run right under the water! It felt SO good! I just wanted to stop and stay under there. I knew I had to keep going. A minute later I saw the one and ONLY water station during the entire race. It looked so packed and crowded so I didn’t stop. Probably not the best idea but I just wanted to finish at that point.
The last mile was horrible. I was seriously freaking out in my own head.
“I am never running another race again!”
“I want to fall over and die.”
“I can’t breathe.”
“I can’t feel my legs.”
“I want to take all of my clothes off and jump in a cold pool!”
“I hate running!”
“HOW MUCH LONGER?!!!”
I tried to cover up these negative thoughts with more positive ones.
“1 more mile, I can do it.”
“I made it this far, I am not giving up now!”
“There are margaritas waiting for me at the finish line!!!”
I listened to the positive thoughts and continued. A ton of people in front of me stopped running and started walking because of the heat. I was tempted to follow but just kept going. I looked down at my heart rate monitor and it said my heart rate was 207. I immediately slowed down a little. I know that if I was not in a race and just running alone, I would have started walking at that point. There was just half a mile left. I knew we were coming close to the end because I saw the river. I remembered the end from last year. The finish line seemed so close but so far! I wanted to speed up at the end but my legs were not having it. Finally the finish line was right in front of me! I did it!
My heart rate monitor said I ran the 3 miles in 31 minutes and 50 seconds. I didn’t even care what my time was. I needed water!!!!!!!!!! I ran through the crowds and grabbed 2 water bottles, found a bench, and collapsed. My Omron said I ran 4 miles. I probably did run a little over 3 miles because of all the weaving in and out of people but I think 4 is a bit too high. I will test it out again…if I ever run again lol.
Once I stretched and got my breathe back, I headed over to Southwest for some much needed margaritas!!! I texted Dori and said that I wanted to die. I found her and Melissa at a table and collapsed once again. I ordered the best margarita ever!!!!
I got the best dinner ever too!!! It was a roasted vegetable and goat cheese quesadilla with extra guacamole. Just what I needed!
We enjoyed another margarita and watched the sun finally go down!
Pretty view from the table!!
We kept checking our times on our phones during dinner. My pace was up on the website but my time wasn’t! Weird! By the time I got home, I got a text from Dori with my pace and time!
Pace/Mile: 11:23
Time: 34:07
I am very happy with that. I’m sure it sounds slow to other runners but it was my first race, the weather was extremely hot, and I did my best! I reached my goal and ran the whole race! Did I enjoy it? Not really! Sorry to be negative but it was just so hard. As much as I want to love running, I don’t right now. Right after the race I said I was never signing up for another one. I might consider another 5K but it has to be at least 15 degrees cooler outside! For now I will continue to do runs on my own outside for pleasure every now and then.
Weekly Goals
Last Friday I set a bunch of goals for this week. In case you missed it, they were:
- Make it to the gym at least 4 times during the week.
- Run a 5K.
- Go to bed by 11:00 Monday through Thursday.
- Bring breakfast and lunch to work 4 out of 5 days of the week.
- Make dinner instead of going out to eat at least 3 nights next week.
How did I do??
- GYM 4 times: Monday-Spin, Tuesday- Nothing! (Yoga fail), Wednesday-Elliptical, Thursday-Run! So far that is 3 times but I will make it 4 or 5 by the end of the weekend! Goal Set!
- Run a 5K: The race wasn’t technically a 5K but I’m sure it turned out to be very close to that. Goal Set!
- Go to bed by 11:00: I think I went to bed by 11:00 just once this week on Monday night! The Yoga, Eggland event, and run made it tough to go to bed early! Goal Not Set.
- Bring breakfast and lunch to work: I brought it every day but today!
I brought omelets….
I brought cottage cheese…..
I brought turkey sandwiches every day for lunch! Goal Set!
5. Make dinner 3 nights: I made dinner Monday…..
I made dinner Tuesday….
Wednesday I made dinner at the Eggland’s Best Event! I am counting that! Goal Set!
I set 4 out of 5 of my goals for the week! Not bad! Next week I will work on the sleep thing again! I definitely felt better this week knowing that I was making most of my meals myself and keeping up with a consistent exercise schedule. Well I gotta run! Okay maybe not run…walk! I need a massage! Have a good weekend!
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Congratulations!!! You did so great at the race and I really hope you decide to run another one. I promise they are not usually like that!
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congrats on running the whole thing! what a great feat
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That’s fabulous!! I can’t even run a mile.hehe:-)cc
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COngrats on the 5k, way to push through the heat.
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Great Job on the Race. The more and more I run, the more I realize how much of a mind game runnig is. I love the fact that you were able to find the things that you needed to motivate you to keep running. GREAT JOB!
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im proud of you for finishing! you did better than i would have and i give you so much credit for RUNNING in this heat. this weather is too hot to sleep let alone run!
my coworkers ran this race yesterday. I work nearby i should have come by to cheer you on and maybe bogard some water for you! tee hee.
Did i say i was proud? IM SO PROUD OF YOU LOVE!
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Missy Maintains Reply:
June 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Thanks! Yes omg I thought about snatching this girl’s water bottle as she ran by me. I needed it so bad!
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Congrats on your first race, Missy – especially in that heat! You totally deserved that margarita – and a second one, too.
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Awesome job!!! So proud that you kept going despite wanting to die!!
That is a beautiful picture of the sunset too!
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I am so proud of you honey!!!!! It was HORRIBLE ayer; I don’t know how you did it but you DID and that rocks!!!!!!!!!
We need to go celebrate! =)
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congrats on your first race!!! yesterday was MISERABLE in nyc. of course it is, reminds me that i made the right choice in leaving!
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Congrats, Missy! This heat is no joke! I’m running my second 5k next week and I’m hoping for a cloudy day. I think I’ll follow your lead and get a margarita afterwards too.
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Congrats on your run!! I walked/ran my first one in 38mins that was an evening one. I signed up to do a morning one, and really need to get out running again. Anyways. Marg and food look good!!
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Great job on your goals for the wk!! I felt the same exact way at the end of my first 5K…..my heart rate was in the 200′s and I was like “Cmon…..when is this over with!” but at least you can say you did it! Margaritas, good food and a beautiful food afterwards? Sounds like an awesome day. And 12,000 people is just ridiculous but yay for people getting their health on!
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Missy, you should be so proud! That is awesome and such an accomplishment! You will enjoy running when it’s cooler. Also, do you ever run in the morning? I find morning runs set a great tone for the day, which keeps me coming back to running. You surely deserved those margaritas, though probably not great for fueling your tight muscles
I hope you continue running, you may find you really enjoy it!
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MissyMaintains Reply:
June 25th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Yea when I try running on weekends it is in the morning. It is just tough on weekdays because the park is far and I don’t feel comfortable running on the streets. I’ll continue practicing!
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Yay! A positive first race experience is worth so much. If my first had been anything like my last one I’d have never done it again. Great job!!
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Congrats on your race! You did awesome!
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girl you had an epic week!!!!! a race and you met like pretty much all your goals except the sleep one which who needs sleep anyways right! hahaha i would have DPVE into that rita after a 90 degree 5k
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Congrats on the race!! And yay for cooling off with a margarita!
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Congrats on the race!! Running in heat is TOUGH, but finishing must have felt so good!
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Aw… Congratulations on completing your first race! What a tough environment. It was super hot yesterday and that race is known for being overcrowded… which means you rocked it!
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It’s funny, I happened to be down by Wall St. with a friend when we saw all of these runners! We had no idea a marathon was even going on then. I didn’t know you were in it, I would have stopped and said “hello!” What horrible weather for a race though! I was dying down there and I wasn’t even running! lol Congrats though, you’re brave girl!
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Congrats Melissa!! What an accomplishment. And you look very stylish in your running gear
Nick and I used to go to bed at 12 every night, and we’ve changed this slowly and now go to bed at 10:30 pm! You know why? Because we wake up at 6:30! It’s helps. Just a hint
Nice job bringing lunch to work ALMOST every day! That’s a huge step, and it’s tougher than it sounds.
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omg those are great goals! I’m totally in the same boat- I’m trying to do all of those things (minus the race). Bringing my food to work is the hardest- and considering that it is monday and it looks like I will be eating all three meals out today I’m not doing so well this week.
ps that view is fantastic! and congrats on your race!
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congrats on the run missy!! you did awesome and you hit most of your goals too!!! it is SO SO SO hot and humid today!!! i hear ya on the heat…there are a bunch of races in the fall time, and that is the PERFECT weather!
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Congrats on your first race, Missy…you did great!
I love running, but running in the summer is at best, unpleasant. I don’t usually do any races in the summer because I just don’t run well when it’s hot. You might like running in cooler weather better!
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[...] happy with this race! Most other people I spoke to found the weather too hot and humid and had a less than ideal race. And although the [...]
you probably would have kicked my a$$ with that run time. Be proud you did it and FINISHED it. And what a lovely end to a nice day!
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