Diary of a 5K run
AFTER years of covering road races from the comfort of the media van or at the finish line, last year I took my first plunge at doing the 5K walk during the inaugural staging of the MoBay City Run, and it was fun, relatively, that is.
So this year, I decided that I would step it up a notch by doing the 5K run, and I even had a preparation schedule mapped out. Suffice to say work and travelling resulted in zero training; and the night before the race, as I watched the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight, I drank brews assuring myself that they would assist with my intake of carbs.
So early Sunday morning I am at Old Hospital Park, in the resort city of Montego Bay, getting ready with the other thousand-plus runners of all sizes and abilities to hit the road.
When the race was called, I tried to get close to a group of women who I was confident that I was sure to beat.
One particular lady wearing fresh make-up (for a road race?) was to my left, while an attractive, mid-30s looking lady stood just in front of me.
Off we go at the gun and I felt the adrenaline surge, or at least I think that was what was happening in my stomach. I was good, trying to pace myself until we got to the City Centre when my leg and chest told me to stop, even as I tried to keep up with the group of ladies including the cute one.
OK then! So I told myself no shame in walking to catch my breath, but as with men and their egos, I picked it up back and moved on, shifting quickly to my left to avoid bouncing a lady talking on her cell phone just in front of me.
By the time we got to the turn-around for the 5K, I was passed by an old lady in sweat pants, a young girl who looks to be no more than 12, a pregnant lady, and a stoutly built man.
But still, the group of women including the ‘cutie’ was within reach, and so I managed to muster up some energy and caught them up.
After what seemed like about three hours, the finish line loomed and I told myself: slow down and catch your breath and run through the line, looking good for the cameras.
That almost worked, until I realised that the finish line was in fact another 50 metres or so down the road.
Overall though, I believe I did well, or so I thought. My 37 minutes plus saw me placed 10th in my age group and 326th out of 685 runners. And the winners ran the course in under 20 minutes.
So, I have resolved to get some work in before May 31 when I will run the inaugural Cornwall College 5K, when hopefully, I will get that time closer to 33 minutes.