Nick and I spent Friday night at home (completing another goal, but more on that another day) and I was headed to bed by 11. We were up by 5:30am since we had to be at the Toronto Zoo for check-in by 7:15. We left in the dark but it was nicely cool and overcast when we arrived. My stomach was immediately queasy; with over 2000 participants, the parking lot was really busy, and most people seemed like much more 'official' runners than I felt (that translates to mean better running gear, water bottle packs, and many people warming up with laps around the lot). I grew more and more nervous; I felt so out of place. I didn't belong at a race like that. So I thought.
I checked in, got my time-chip bib on and my swag bag stashed in the car, had a pre-run bathroom break (nothing worse than having to pee after 2 kms) and had nothing to do but simmer and and get progressively more scared for about half an hour. It's a good thing Nick is so encouraging, cause it was mildly tempting to just leave. The first wave was set to leave at 8:15 and just before then I suddenly realized I had forgotten chapstick. As small of a thing as it was, I knew how uncomfortable chapped lips can be on a long run, so Nick headed back to the car to grab some for me. But then that first wave took off, and oh my were they were off FAST. All I could hear was the slapping of their feet on the pavement, it was almost surreal. The second wave left and then I started to get jittery. It seemed like Nick was taking way too long, and I couldn't imagine having to start the race without him being there nearby. I was literally almost panicking. The nerves of doing such a monumental thing for me, and him potentially not being there had me all riled up. But of course he made it back to me in time and walked up to the starting line with me, and I felt better as the seconds ticked closer to my 8:30 start time. With a quick hug and good luck kiss, the horn blew and I had to go.
I wasn't a fan of the claustrophobic feeling running in a pck left me with, but I figured at my slow speed, people would separate away from me fairly quickly. Like most of my runs, it took me a while to get into my comfortable groove, but it was even tougher to watch all these people pass me. I had no expectations of being fast compared to anyone else, but it's just visually de-motivating to watch sooo many people go by faster. By the 1km mark, the masses were far enough ahead of me and by the 2km mark I was finally comfortable.
I was surprised by how many people walked, and by how much they walked throughout the run. Even by the first km, people were walking. But not me, I was definitely the tortoise in that race, I wasn't going to stop, not for anything.
There were moments were I thought I wasn't going to make it, there were moments where I got a good spurt of energy and felt like I could run forever. Kms 5-7 were tough, but km 8 seemed really long. I was basically alone with no one even around by km 4, and I was quite ok with that. I ran by a zebra, an elephant, yaks, monkeys, pink flamingoes, giraffes, and camels. Luckily I spotted Nick twice throughout the run; there wasn't too many spots for people to watch runners go by. But there was 3 water spots, and each one had a long line of volunteers cheering. It was strange to hear strangers chanting my name (maybe that's why they print your name on the bibs).
Once I hit km 9, I knew I had about three songs left on my iPod. I had spent km 8 trying to pass a man ahead of me, and I was slowly closing the gap. I didn't know if there was really anyone left behind me, and I really didn't want to come in last again. Coming in last at the try-a-tri just diminished my feelings of accomplishment and I didn't want to suffer that again. So as I passed that 9 km marker, I turned it on. I ran past 5 people by the time I rounded the corner to the finish line. And I sprinted over that finish line with what little energy I had left. It was pretty cool to hear my name announced over the microphone. My legs were jello and I just kept walking. I was handed my finisher's medal, but I still had to keep walking. It was a terrible set-up at the finish in that spectators were nowhere nearby. I had to keep walking around a bunch of tents and walls before I could even remotely find Nick. I think he was as disappointed as I was that he didn't get to actually watch me cross the finish line. But I had done it, I had finished the race. I had crossed at 1:45 but we realized that must be from the beginning of the first wave, so we guessed that I had ran about 1:35. I would check online later for my actual time.
I wish I could remember every moment, every thought from the run, because it was such an amazing experience for me. Never in a million years would I ever have thought I would run in a 10km, let alone finish it and not walk for a single step. I had 3 goals for my run: first was to run the entire thing. I did that. Second, I didn't want to come in last. I came in 2100 of 2201 runners. Goal acheived. Lastly, I wanted to finish it in less than an hour and a half. My time was 1:29:56. I did it.
Words can't really explain how huge this accomplishment is for me. I'm not a runner. I'm not athletic. But maybe I am. I mean I must be, I just ran a 10km race.
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