First Race:

    Running 2 miles was possible and at this point I thought I ran 3 miles (I was wrong) at least once. After eating lunch with my mom and her co-workers I saw a sign for a 5k (3.12 miles) race. The mere thought excited me. I signed up on active.com and registered for the Make-A-Wish Foundation 5k race in Marietta town square on October 17, 2009.

 

Race Day:

5:45 am wake up call to get to the race at 7:00 am for registration. For one thing I hate mornings and the reason I decided to run this race was to show where I stood, which made me nervous. So, I was a little grumpy. The goal I set for myself was to finish the race in 25 to 30 minutes.

    There were about 600 people there. All ages: babies in strollers all the way up to people in their 60s. That was inspiring and even the dogs in the race inspired me too.

    During the race I watched other people, different people's shoes, and the birds. Also, I focused on pacing myself and the cold with the wind chill kept my mind occupied for a bit. My hands were the worst part. It was in the low 40s at 8:00 am when the race started.

    I thought the race course was going to be flat, but I was wrong. There were 4 or 5 hills of different lengths and inclines. I walked a couple of times and at the end as I walked towards the last 100 meters my mom started waving her arms and yelled, "Come on! Your almost there!" The adrenaline kicked in and I sprinted it out to the finish line.

    My time was 28:51. Met my goal and felt amazing!