So this morning marked the 1st (Possibly) Annual Wheaton Academy Alumni and Friends 5k. I woke up at 6 am and downed two slices of wheat toast with peanut butter along with half a gallon of water. I left home around 6:30 and arrived at my old high school around 6:45 am, just as the cross country team was setting the course up.
The conditions outside were not ideal for running. Thankfully, the sky was blue, but I was hoping for a temperature higher than 33 degrees. Unfortunately, running the three miles on treadmills was not an option. So I got my runners' bib and gray alumni-t-shirt, and immediately went back inside the fieldhouse. That weather was just too cold to stand around in doing nothing. I had a few brief conversations with some people around me, but there was nobody I recognized besides Felinski who assist coaches cross country anyway. Around 7:40, about 60 of us headed over to the grass practice field behind the school. We took a group photo, got the layout of the course from my old gym teacher, and he then said a quick prayer. I stood right at the starting line, sporting my Brooks Brothers sneakers, white compression socks, black mesh exercise shorts, long-sleeve black synthetic shirt, maroon t-shirt over that, red-orange fleece jacket, black Adidas headband, and black winter skull hat. Then I heard "Ready, set..." and the blowhorn didn't work. It sounded like somebody playing a trumpet with a wad of used chewing gum stuck inside.
Anyway, we started by going straight across Hawthorne Rd, then downhill, around the soccer field, slightly uphill, then back across Hawthorne Rd and across the practice field in the opposite direction that we had started. That took about five minutes and my hands were already getting numb because of the cold. And I really didn't know how fast I was running, but I knew I was pushing myself pretty hard. So we then went through the parking lot and then down the Prairie Path next to Prince Crossing Road for about two minutes. Then we made a left back onto the path for a pretty long straightaway before a quick left downhill turn, only to quickly turn right for a very steep uphill run for a few seconds. After that, we were back on the campus for a straightaway run past the softball field and back to the practice field.
The problem for me was I wasn't clear if we had to complete two laps or three laps before the finish. I did know there was and orange road cone set up near Hawthorne that we would have to turn around before heading toward the finish. So I really wasn't quite sure how to pace myself. I felt okay through the first lap, but I was having a lot of trouble breathing. The cold almost forced me to breathe through my mouth alone. I just made sure to breathe out as deeply as I could to help prevent those side cramps and thankfully, they never came. By the time I got back across Hawthorne on the second lap, I knew I was going to struggle. There were a few points where I wanted to just walk. But I knew if I did, getting myself to run again would only get harder. The only time I really slowed down was that last uphill rush. But a few moments later, when I saw a few people ahead of me turn around that orange cone, I knew I was almost finished. Even though I didn't really have a good sprint left in me, I was still able to pick my pace up a little bit. I crossed the finish line at the 23:18 mark, which was the eighth fastest finishing time. At the Willow Creek 5k, I finished at 28:45, and that was with a hard sprint for the last half mile, so I ran the three miles 5:27 faster than in April.
I immediately downed three small cups of water...I needed a tub of Gatorade. My right calf felt really tight, but other than that, I felt pretty good. Soon, I also saw George, the very energetic golden retriever crossing the line with his owner, so I got a cup of water for him too. He certainly appreciated it.
Then I headed over to the mini-tent where some snacks were set up for us. I took a mini-wheat bagel with cream cheese, half a banana, and a cup of blueberry yogurt that I still haven't eaten. Around 8:15, I took off and headed straight to the gym where I lay in the sauna and showered before a good soak in the whirlpool. I could have used a Swedish massage too...
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