My First 10K

***Warning -- For those who object to mild profanity, you may not want to read this post.  I'm sorry, but it brought out the best and worst in me***

Today, I ran my first ever 10K (6.2 miles).  Today, I ran my first ever organized run, period.  Let me give you a play by play of the emotional meltdown which occurred during the duration of the run.

• Mile 1 - What the hell did I get myself into?  I started to cry, but then pulled myself together.
• Mile 1.5 - Is this some kind of sick joke?  I have to climb that hill?

It was here that I realized all the running jams I downloaded to iTunes didn't sync with my iPod.  I began listening to the same 5 songs over, and over and over again.

• Mile 2 - Sum-nava-beech, I'm slipping into last place.  I started to cry again, but couldn't breath, so talked myself out of it.  Again.
• Mile 2.5 - While passing the Provo Temple, I decided I'd better stop cussing.
• Mile 3 - The police officer who was following beside me rolled down his window and yelled to me "you are doing great!  Keep going!  You'll finish!"  Thank you Mr. Police Man.

Miles 3 thru 4 seemed to go by with ease.  I found my pace (at the back of the pack).

• Mile 4.5 - Pain set in.  I wanted to cry.  Crying only makes it harder to breathe.  Wait... why the hell are my hands swollen?  
• Mile 5 - I wondered how long I'd be running this forsaken race.  I thought about sitting down and waiting for Chris to come find me.  But how would I call him without my cell phone?  Since I completely forgot about payphones, I pressed forward.
• Mile 5.5 - What the french toast?  I'm back at the start point?  I then knew exactly how far I still had to go.  This depressed me.
• Mile 6.2 - I crossed the finish line.  Sweating, lungs gasping for breath, legs shaking underneath me.  And crying again.  Seriously, again?

See my time?  1 hour 24 minutes and 39 seconds.  I saw Chris, smiling proud and I realized that it didn't seem at all like an hour and a half.  It went by in minutes, though my body told me otherwise.  I told Chris I wasn't going to Sacrament Meeting in the morning, so he'd have to go say the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting.

Cade and Carrie finished long before me, therefore, the redness in their faces was gone when we paused for a photo.  I however, was still trying to catch my breath.

I learned a lot about myself during this race.  I learned that my body has limits, but I can push it.  I now know I need to take more time to prepare for these types of activities.  I learned not to try and compete with everyone else, just compete with myself.

What an accomplishment.  I still can't believe that I did it.