3. Run in a 5K Race.

As of October 3, 2010, I am an official road runner!!

I'm finding it difficult to organize and elaborate on all my thoughts about this momentous achievement...so I'll just start from the beginning. The very beginning...

When did I decide to start running? I don't remember...must have been months ago. Maybe it was June. I downloaded the Couch-2-5K iPhone app. I can't remember now if it was because I intended to run a 5K or if I wanted to lose weight. It definitely wasn't because I needed something to do or because I loved running.

At this point, let me admit this: I hate running. See, I just don't see the point. If I wanted to get from point A to point B...why would choose to run? I have a bicycle- I can get there faster and use less energy. Plus, it takes a lot of time. I don't think the time to benefit ratio is that great either. For instance, if my intention was to lose weight, I think a good diet and a good circuit training program would have sufficed. I hate running. It's boring. It's time consuming. And, yeah, it's painful- not just to the body but to the mind. I never realized how strong my quitting complex was. My mind was like...like one of those kids who doesn't want to go where their parents are taking them so they kind of sit down and nothing's going to make them move. That's my mind. It never wants to resolve this problem I have with running.

So how do I go from that train of thought to a 5K? Well, just because I "hate" running doesn't mean I don't appreciate the hard work that goes into it. I have always looked up to marathoners. I guess because I hate it so much and know so well how hard it is, I just think runners are this awesome breed of human. And then I realized they weren't. I realized the only thing that's different about them is that they tried. I realized that I had been saying "If only..." and "I wish..." and "One day..." and talking about how cool it was. Well, that's when I saw the advertisements for the Sapporo Marathon in October and signed myself up!

Let's fast forward through the boring training part: I graduated from the C25K program in the summer and started running by myself in the fall. By the end of September, I was doing a 5K at a solid 35minutes. I was able to get a 10minute mile too. The longest distance I've run so far is about 6-7K. Pretty good for someone who never really ran in her life and hated running, don't you think?

So I signed up for this 5K back in August(just before the deadline and using a website that was all in Japanese, by the way!) and that brings us to October 3rd. (I just realized I wrote about the day before the race...on the day before the race. So I don't think I need to mention it again!)

It was a gloomy day- clouds threatening to pour down at any second. I slept well, ate a good breakfast (fried egg on rice with ketchup and half a banana), made a 35 minute playlist on my iPhone and got to the starting line at the exact time that the race started. I barely had enough time to say bye to Ryan! Luckily the walk from the train station to the stadium was a good warm-up.

The race was awesome. It was like being part of one gigantic animal, winding its way around this park and tearing down everything in its path. It was awesome! I said that already. I guess I was pretty amped because I just felt great the entire time and I was running faster than ever- my iPhone program kept reminding me that I was way ahead of my target pace. Also, no pain at all- not even a side cramp. The most unusual thing though was that about 3/4 into the race, I started getting this hot, burning feeling in the pit of my stomach- as if my belly was blushing. It wasn't pain or nausea or hunger. It was just there and it was kind of comforting in a way. (Except not comforting in that I had never felt it before so I was a little concerned.)

When I finally got to the stadium, I was so HAPPY. I didn't even think about stopping once during the race except when we started to make our way to the stadium where I knew the finish line was. I was pretty upset though that once we got there we had to make a loop around it to get to the finish line. It took all I had not to just stop before crossing the finish line. And guess what! My 35 minute playlist was still playing! I finished in 30 minutes! My best time ever!

I collected my free sports waters, made a post run video, somehow got lost and ended up walking to the farther subway station and finally made it home to a hot shower and lunch at Jacksonville Burger. Also, I ate 4 cupcakes. It was a fine day.

I'm not gonna lie: Running does feel good. Of course, not all the time. There are times when I have a crap run and I never want to run again. Most of the time, it's just a run- neither good nor bad. But sometimes, it can be amazing. Amazing enough for me to run another day? Yeah, I think so. So I guess that means next year...I'm running a half marathon! (Maybe. Honestly I'd settle for the 10K but my big mouth is telling everyone I'm going to do a half marathon so I better nut up, or shut up. Right?)