Why?
Color Me Rad 5K - that's why.
When I woke up this morning, my only mission was to HAVE FUN!
No pace goal.
No finishing time goal.
No interval plan.
Just run.
And get blasted with color.
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| White T. Side ponytail. Let's go. |
Usually, I eat a healthy pre-race meal (toast or a bagel with peanut butter and a banana), but today I knew my only mission was to have fun...and we have zero food at the house, so I stopped by McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin. I was hoping I wouldn't regret that decision later (thankfully, I didn't).
When I was about one mile away from the State Fairgrounds (the parking and race area), traffic was at a stand still. I looked at the clock.
8:18 am.
Okay, I have plenty of time.
Around 8:47 am, I only moved about 200 feet. I was supposed to meet my co-worker, Emily, at 8:45 am near the start line.
Obviously, that wasn't going to happen....I was getting extremely nervous that I would miss my start time.
I text my friend Meggie (I saw on Twitter that she already arrived at the race), and asked if she parked at the State Fairgrounds. I was hoping she would reply and saw she found a secret (free) parking lot.
She replied back and said, "Yes- start passing people and jump in at a later start time."
Even though part of me just wanted to give up and go home, I knew Meggie was right. I need to suck it up and run during a later wave.
Around 9:05, I pulled into the parking lot. I saw a bunch of people in white shirts running to the start line, so I followed them. As I was heading toward the start line, I heard people screaming. I thought of my friend Jenny, who was starting at the 9:05 wave. As I got closer, I didn't waste any time jumping in another "wave" of runners. The group of friends in front of me had a ton of color packets. They were throwing color all over the place. I was happy when one of them turned around and splashed me with some color.
I'll be fine.
I'll have fun.
After all, that is my only goal!
By 9:15 am, I was off for my first completely solo race.
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| About to run into a cloud of pink!! |
A lot of people were walking, so I was running on sidewalks and "off road" to pass people.
Passing people was an interesting concept because usually people are passing ME!
At times, I was jealous I didn't have friends with me to stop and take fun pictures. I tried to easedrop in a few conversations to pass the time. One girl was giving advice to her friend about half marathon training. I smiled and found myself agreeing with most of the things she said.
Color Me Rad isn't a timed race and you don't have mile markers...and because my iPhone was tucked away in my bra...I had no clue what my pace or mileage was...I had a feeling I was going fast, but a lot of people were stopping and waiting for the color clouds to blast them. The water line was also a hardstop.
But I tried to make up for it by running as much as I could!
At one point, I found one of the professional photographers. He wasn't taking pictures, so I looked right at him and said, "HEY! Take a picture of me!!"
In true Ashley Sieb fashion, I jumped into the air only to come falling down on my butt.
When am I going to learn my lesson and stop jumping in the air for pictures?
Thankfully, the only thing injured was my pride. I heard a few people chuckle behind me.
For a split second, I pictured people whispering, "Who is this awkward chubby girl running by herself and falling all over the place?"
Who cares what people think, I reminded myself. I stood up and struck a final diva pose (just wait until you see these pictures, people- they will be great), and then I took off running again!
I ended up running most of the final mile. I later learned that my last mile was a 10:22 pace! AMAZING!
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| The finish line. |
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| Hey yo! |
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| A personal best!!!! |
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| Colorful. |
So, who is signing up with me next year!? :)
Much love,
Ashley
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