How Not to Prep for a 5k

I ran a 5k on Sunday. It went OK. I ran with a good friend of mine who just had her second baby in October and who has been trying to get back in the swing of things just like I have.

I will say that I was not as prepared to run as I should have been. First of all, I hadn't run in over a week. Granted, I ran a 5k on the treadmill--but that isn't really any indication of how things are going to go outside on a course that you have never seen before.

So, maybe the day before I shouldn't have consumed the worst pre-race food possible. The day started with an Easter Egg Hunt with the Lady. I had two mini-snickers and then a coffee. At noon we were at my in-laws where they were serving hot dogs for lunch. I can't tell you the last time I ate a hot dog. It seriously could have been years and years ago, they just aren't on my list of everyday foods, which is probably why I shouldn't have eaten two with relish.

I then drove up to New London for a fundraiser for my cousin who is raising money for the Avon 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. This was at a bar. I had 3 beers, some chicken fingers and a mini-sausage wrapped in phyllo. After returning to my in-laws to pick up my girls and my husband, I had a piece of lasagna and a meatball.

I could still taste the hot dogs when I made my oatmeal pre-race. Ugh.

I got to the race site and I was a little nervous because it was much smaller then the Turkey Trot and everyone looked fit and ready to roll. I was glad when my girlfriend got there and we checked in. The course started with a lap around the High School fields and then we moved to the Cross Country trail, which was fine until we hit the hills. I had to stop for a bit. I was disappointed that I didn't push through it, but I was able to catch up with my running partner, maneuver some smaller hills and finish the race together.

Note to self: start running hills.

This race didn't have any chips to clip on my sneaker (which was good since once again I had the hairiest legs in America) so imagine my surprise when we started to speed up towards the finish line and the clock said 29 minutes. Could we have actually finished this race in under a half-hour? Sadly, no. As I was throwing up oatmeal a little bit into my mouth on the side of the track--why do I constantly feel like puking after a race? Is there anyway to stop this? I want to run more but I don't want to finish each race spewing chunks across the finish line--I heard the time guy saying that he made a mistake and pressed the wrong button while doing something so the times were like 10 minutes off. Oh well, we finished and we didn't finish last.

Next time I will train a bit harder, a big longer, with more hills and with less hot dog breath.

I do want to say that I am super proud of my running partner and more inspired to get out there and get moving knowing that I have the support of my friends!