Do you remember your first race? Was it when you were young or were you late to the running game? Today on Tuesdays on the run, Patty, April and I are talking about our first races and I’d love to hear about YOURS!
If you aren’t a blogger, leave a comment. If you are a blogger, be sure to link up with us so I can stop by and read about your experience. My favorite part of this link up is meeting new people!
Let me give you a little back story before I talk about my first race…
I didn’t run much before we had kids. Growing up, I went through a few phases where I ran, but nothing on a regular basis. I did run a bit in college and when I was working full time I occasionally ran on the treadmill in the gym, but I much preferred other work outs. And the minute I got pregnant with Jones? I stopped running. I worked out the entire 9 months, but because of previous losses, I was too nervous to run.
Enter Jones. His birth was far from my plan. I hated the hospital he was born in. I didn’t sleep for almost two entire days while we were there. And then we went home and he didn’t eat well and his sleep patterns were awful. So, I was tired, stressed, and then my hormones shifted.
WHAM! Postpartum depression.
So, I started running. I didn’t run far or fast, but I ran. And slowly, but surely, I returned to myself. And running became a way of surviving for me. But I still had never run a race and really had no interest in doing one.
Flash forward 4 years. Jones had started preschool, Shoo had arrived and I’d manage to run enough to prevent a PPD recurrence, and I got to know another preschool mom, Caroline, who’d run numerous Boston Marathons. I blame her for starting me down the road to my race addiction!
My first race: St. Patrick’s Day 8K, Washington, DC, March 2007
Caroline convinced me to run a race and acted as my mentor. I didn’t own a Garmin, I didn’t own running tights (I bought a pair of men’s tights the day before), and I wore a random hat of Beer Geek’s. Caroline told me NOT to wear the race shirt (no worries, it was cold out!) and how to pin my bib on. (She told me I’d be too hot in tights. I wore them anyways.) She drove me to the race, helped me get my bib, and told me where to line up. (And then she moved way forward ’cause HELLO, she’s fast.)
The first of many awful race pictures
The gun went off and I went out too fast (yeah, some things never change…) I settled in at just under a 9 minute pace. I was running hard and really pushing myself but an 8K is only 4 miles, so I knew I could do it. I passed the four mile marker and looked for the finish line. And that’s when I realized that 8K is closer to 5 miles, not 4 miles. Oops!
I finished in 44:23, which I’ve only beaten once in the last 7 years!
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I love the St Patrick’s Day 8K! Isn’t it funny how many mistakes (especially with how we dress) we make during our first race?
Stacey recently posted…Tuesdays on the Run: My First Race
My attire has changed completely over the years, but I do still have those tights and wear them for training runs in the winter LOL.
This is great, I will have to try to link up later in the week. I don’t remember much about my first race, but my first half marathon was a tough one!
Christy @My Dirt Road Anthem recently posted…Missoula Half Marathon
Definitely do! And next week we’ll be talking about fitting in running on vacation.
I just had my first runiversary. I ran my first 5K in June of 2013 and ran the same race this year slightly improving my time. My friend and I ran the Chocolate Miracle race in Hershey, PA. I picked that race because the proceeds benefited the Penn State Children’s Hospital, which many children I personally know have been to. It was harder than I thought (hills still suck) and yet I finished strong. I was extremely excited to run the race for the second time this year. I can’t wait for the many races yet to come!
Way to go! I’m not a fan of hills, but I seem to have this amazing ability to find hilly races…
Supercute!! I need to do better job of linking up – this would have been a fun post. My first race was a 10K (crazy girl right?) in Bethesda, MD – the Turkey Chase 10K.
Jennifer recently posted…I’m SO Crafty – DIY Gold Chalkboard Frame
You should definitely link up with us. Might as well start big with a 10K LOL.
LOL on your first of many bad race pictures – but I bet you’re glad you have it!
Yes, I’m so glad I have that picture. I’ve come a long way since then…
Everyone needs a friend like Caroline when they are running their first race!
Meranda@fairytalesandfitness recently posted…Our Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend Video
Indeed. It was so nice to not have to think for myself. She just told me what to do LOL. Took a lot of the stress out of the day.
Hahaha all of my race pictures look like I’m absolutely dying! Glad you had a good first race experience! 🙂
Lindsey recently posted…Week 5 Recap and Sister Fun
I look half dead and have both feet on the ground in most pictures. I very seldom feel any urge to buy a picture LOL.
Nice job on your first race! Love the picture too!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…Rock & Roll Half Philly Training: Week 1 Recap
Thanks! It was a fun race.
i love this and love the look of determination on your face!
Courtney @ Eat Pray Run, DC recently posted…Blogger Tip Tuesday: Using Twitter Lists
I think it was more a look of “OMG, I’m dying here”, but I’ll take “determination”. LOL
Love that photo of your race!
Cynthia @ You Signed Up For What?! recently posted…Tri Talk Tuesday: Race Day Fueling
Ha! Such an awful picture…
great first race recap. I don’t even remember my first race. You look like nothing and can stop you-love the pic.
Deborah Brooks recently posted…Foam Fest 5k- Mud, Sweat & Fears
Thanks! I keep saying I’m going to run that race again, but I know I’ll never run it as fast as I did.
Old habits definitely die hard when it comes to running! I think you definitely made a good decision on the tights…it looks like a cold day!
Amanda recently posted…My First Race: Capital City River Run
It was cold. I never even took off the gloves, which is pretty unusual for me. I did not regret the long tights at all.
How fun to think back on your first race! Mine wasn’t that long ago, as I just started running recently, but I am loving it! xo
Jessie Emeric recently posted…Bryce Canyon Half Marathon Recap | Race 10 of 14 for 2014
I’m glad I finally wrote about it. I’ve already forgotten much of that day.
Love this! It’s fun to look back on the beginning
Meredith @ DareYouTo recently posted…pack one bag: Apera Tech Pack {Review}
It was a fun topic. Loved reading everyone’s recaps.
Wow it sounds like you had a great race! It’s funny that you didn’t know what to wear – I think every runner is like that with their first race!
Kristen recently posted…A Look Back On My First Half Marathon
I don’t think I’d ever run outside in the cold before that race. I had nothing at all to wear…
It’s good to be able to honest about the PPD – I think that is true for so many ‘mother runners’, but you barely can see yourself in it!! Love the buying the tights the day before – now after so many races aren’t we so specific and particular and would NEVER buy something the day before!?!
Ashley recently posted…My first race, aka how *not* to tri #linkup
I think PPD needs to be talked about more. I have a history of wicked PMS and situational depression, so it would have been nice to have been warned that I was more likely to experience it. Comparatively speaking, mine was a mild case and exercise made a huge difference, but it still sucked to feel so unhappy for the first few months of Jones’ life. And yeah, I’m super picky about clothes now LOL.
I have always been too paranoid to exercise while pregnant because of my losses. While I ran before having kids for a couple of years, it’s only since my youngest turned one that I’ve really embraced running and the running community. Both of my kids were high needs when little (tummy issues, not sleeping well, colic) so running is my way of decompressing and finding myself. Sounds like you had a great first race!
April @ RunTheGreatWideSomewhere recently posted…ToTR: My First Race or “What Not To Do”
It’s always nice to hear I’m not alone. I always wish I’d been one of those people who ran all the way through pregnancy, but I was too scared to try. Thankfully, Shoo was not at all high needs as a baby, but running still made me a better mom.
Bummed I missed the link up this week…too much chaos with our trip….I’m not even sure I remember my first race if you can believe that?! I remember my first half marathon, but I know that wasn’t my first!
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes recently posted…My Soxy Feet review
Feel free to link up late! And next week, we are talking about fitting in running on vacation. I know you’ll have something to say about that…
There’s something to be said about not know [the distance]! My first race was a St Patrick’s Day race, too. I thought it was a 5K, but no, it was 3.6 miles! At the time a half mile was a huge difference for me lol.
AMP runs recently posted…Joining Running Groups
My longest run in ages was a half marathon that was really 14.5 miles. That last mile+ nearly killed me LOL. Some things never change…