Kashann Runs a Race

I ran a 5 K today!  

This race marks the first time in my life I have ever ran 3 miles all at once. It also marks the first time I have ever run in a race. Unless you count all the races I was forced to run with Kennon around our trailer. She first beat me when she was 7.  I was 8 months pregnant at the time but that didn't matter.  Brent wouldn't let it rest that I had beaten by my 7 year old.


Last night I ran into Kris and Andy, Savannah's best friend's parents. They moved into the neighborhood about the same time we did.  Andy is retired military and now spends a good portion of his day just running. I have never once seen him wear anything but running gear. They told me that they were running the UNH Homecoming 5K in the morning and without thinking I burst out with, "Oh, I wish I would've known".


Well of course it wasn't too late to register and they picked me up at 8 a.m. this morning.


I had the worst pre-race gitters. I was sure that I would seriously choke in front of my friends.  Choke meaning -be forced to walk.  Before moving to NH, I wasn't even a runner. But we have the runningest neighborhood I have ever seen. It is full of hills and shade and it seems that there are constantly young fit people running by and I just couldn't help trying to fit in. Plus, Kennon joined cross country and I found out that the parents are invited to run with them on their last meet. So I clocked a two mile hilly course through my neighborhood and have ran it almost everyday the last couple weeks, still not sure if I actually was brave enough to run a real race with my daughter.


It hadn't gotten easy yet, like everyone told me it would. And now I was going to run 3? 


But guess who never stopped running? I made it just fine to the one mile marker but then right after that and I was searching hard for mile marker 2. I decided that once I got there I had to walk.  But it never came and before long the cheerleaders along the sides were saying, "You're almost there!"


I felt stupid for asking but I yelled back at them, "How far?" I was still looking for that 2 mile mark. "Just around the corner"  was the reply,. This should've encouraged me but by then I was having stomach cramps I hadn't ever had in my life and I personally couldn't see the finish line. 


I kept thinking, "It's time to walk".  I definitely could've walked faster than I was running at this point. But I knew that a fast walk wouldn't impress my husband who may be just ahead.  I hadn't seen Brent yet since I left him in bed that morning, and if I started walking right when I passed him I would be so mad.  Sure enough there he was right near the finish line, cheering like crazy.  I had nothing left to show off and sprint to the finish.


My time was 31:30. Brent had about given up on me. 

I know this is all kind of embarrassing to document how very hard I found my first 5K, but I figured it would be good to remember it all. Especially if I became a really great runner someday. This is how it all began.


And by the way, the course was FULL of Hills and I beat Kris and Andy by a minute and a half.