I had no idea what I was in for.Before last week, the most I had run consecutively was six miles, but I decided it was time to do something to take advantage of my athletic prime and I signed up for the Charlottesville 10-Miler, which was held Saturday morning with nearly 1900 participants.
I spent the entire week leading up to the race peppering my roommate with questions: could I go out Thursday night, how much do I run on Friday, what do I eat on Friday, when do I go to bed Friday night, what do I eat Saturday morning, what do I wear for the race and what do I do with this black thing that apparently goes in my shoe somehow? I think my roommate was contemplating convincing me that the race was next weekend just so he could have some peace and tranquility.
In my and other cross-country virgin racers' defense, running a huge race can be quite daunting. Heck, I was nervous about how and where to pin the number on my shirt.
Friday night I got no sleep. I told my buddies it was like taking the MCAT all over again ... OK, maybe not the MCAT, but I was awfully nervous.
Turned out that most of my anxiety was unnecessary. I was amazed by the amount of support runners received from the Charlottesville community along the entire 10 miles of the trek. Whether it was little kids slapping high fives, pink ladies holding up funny signs ("Keep the Pep in your Step"), random C'ville townies cheering or multiple bands playing music, the support from members across Charlottesville was incredibly uplifting and rejuvenating.
There is no way I could have run the race as well as I did without this constant encouragement and support. Family, friends and neighbors would sit outside for more than an hour and continuously cheer on every runner that went by. Even though the "I love Jesus" music from the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church wouldn't have been my (or definitely my mother's) first choice, it definitely made me crack a smile.
There were also tons of kids and adults repeatedly filling up and passing out both Gatorade and water cups while constantly shouting which cup was which, so runners could get their desired liquid. I didn't become that thirsty during the race, but I had to grab a cup of water at mile five, just so I could throw the cup on the ground like I saw runners in front of me do.
Even my roomies joined in on the action. They somehow got up at 8:25 a.m. to watch me run by our house on Grady Avenue soon after mile three. They may have been sitting in lawn chairs and drinking beverages, but getting up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning is no small feat in the college world.
(This same group of college gentlemen was asked by multiple 40-something men running the race why they weren't passing out beers to the runners...)
One of my friends, whose identity will remain confidential, actually stopped into that same Grady house in the middle of the race to take care of "business." He later had to stop again, but this time there were no facilities at his disposal, and he was forced to become intimately close with nature. (I told you my pre-race meals were cause for careful consideration.)
Another anonymous colleague stopped to urinate at the side of a house before being berated about pausing by a friend (who wasn't running the race). The unnamed urinator decided it was easier to just run rather than stand by and receive the heckling, so he took off before relieving himself.
I was also astounded by the amount of people in their golden years, or close to it, making the trek. There were times near the end of the race during which I would look next to me and see a 55-year-old woman straggling along, and I realized how in shape some of these adults were.
My former economics professor, Lee Coppock, ran under 65 minutes at 39-years-old. A 12-year old kid even clocked in at 95. Major kudos to both of them.
There was a feeling of accomplishment after crossing that finish line that one can't receive from other feats. If you get a chance, run a race at some point. Even if it's a 5K, the experience of being part of that type of community event is unparalleled.
Just be sure to get your diet down the day before, unless of course you're looking to be entertainment for the rest of the runners.
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