They said, “go” and everyone was off like a shot. I knew immediately that the pace was too fast for me. I slowed and situated myself at breathing pace. I was at the back of the pack and I was certainly the only overweight person running.
I did my first mile in about 13 minutes and change. Not a bad pace since I did walk about 2 blocks in the first mile. Further into the race I walked another 2 block. But otherwise I ran the most of the 3.2 miles. If I had to estimate I’d say I ran about 2.7 miles and walked about half a mile.
The start was hard. The finish was easy. Granted I’ve certainly cheered at the end of a hardwork out but I’ve never had a group of people cheering and encouraging me to pass the finish line. It was great. I was done at 45 minutes and change. (Sorry, I didn’t get the exact time.)
And even though I was the final 5k-runner to pass the completion mark, I’ve never been so proud to come in last.
