5 KM Marathon Complete!!

UPDATE: Since this was my first race I didn't understand all the stats. It turns out I DID beat my goal of 48 minutes! When I look at my chip time from the start line to the finish line it took me 45:09.5!!!!!!

---

Okay, so it's not technically a marathon but I did it! I finished the 5 km race in 53 minutes and 30 seconds! This was the first time I've run in any event like this. I've done the CIBC Run for the Cure before but I was happy to just walk it.

Here we are before the race began

Me, Tiana, Chantal

Tiana's with her parents Phil and Lisette.

Part of the immense crowd of 5km participants.

The race started of really slowly. It took us 8 minutes to get to through the start line. It was amazing to hear everyone cheering on and it encouraged us to run as soon as there was room to. There were five of us who went to the race together. We ran the first couple minutes and then three of our group walked while Tiana and I kept running. It was nice to have a partner, and I think we ran together for the first 22 minutes. After that I went ahead and kept with my walk/jog routine.

I listened to my music for a while, but as I got to a bridge there were hundreds of cheering spectators. I felt so encouraged by the cheers that weren't just for loved ones, but for strangers as well. I almost broke into tears a few times. I was never so thankful to hit the water station and that's when the people really started to cheer. I was down to my last kilometer.

People cheered me on by name and it threw me off until I remembered my bib has my name on it! I pushed hard the last 750 meters but I knew I had to be smart so I still walked off and on, but I made it through the finish line running! On the other side of the finish line we were handed medals for completing the race.

Here are my race results:

Place: 6599th

Time: 53:30.8

Pace: 10:43

Gender Place: 3966/4584

My race shirt and medal.

Self portrait after completing the race. A very proud moment.

All in all I'm really proud of myself for accomplishing my first "marathon" and for being confident enough in myself to go ahead on my own to try and meet my goal. Yesterday I said I'd wanted to complete in 48 minutes, I didn't think about how slowly the beginning of the race would go. Still, I know I pushed myself further than I've ever pushed before and  that in itself speaks volumes.