54:16

I have been friends with many long distance runners. I even married one. You would think that I would be a runner as well and would be traveling the race circuit; however, I am not. I am not a runner in any shape or form.

Being a glutton for punishment, yesterday was my first 5K. I didn't sleep a wink the night before being so nervous for this race. I knew people who were going to be there, but I didn't have a running buddy to keep me on pace and to push me to my limits. I was counting on Madonna's Immaculate Collection to keep me true to form: run a song, walk a song and eventually the whole ordeal would be over. I started off walking and started to run after about 5 minutes of warm-up. I cranked up the IPOD and off Madonna and I went. I ran until my song was over and was HATING myself afterward. I had torn up my shins in the first 8 minutes. When it was time to run again I wanted to cry. I tried it but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was trying to decide if I should just run through the pain and risk permanent injury or just buck it up and walk through the pain to get to the end. WALK! no thank you. I was in it to prove I could do it; to prove to myself that I could be a runner. I was going to be in pain regardless, so I started walking faster and to my surprise Chris drove by with the family. I waved, they cheered and off they went. I thought, "Man, they are going to be waiting a LONG time for me to finish this thing. I better start running".

(I know I'm running on the sidewalk which is a BIG no-no for those with shin splints. This was for photo purposes ONLY)

But, Chris parked the van and they met me at the 1/2 way point. They started to walk with me for a while and all was well. I was so appreciative of this small gesture that really did the trick for my psyche. As I was preparing to say goodbye and get on my way, Chris picked up Samantha and started to run with me. YEAH! I needed someone to help push me along and I'm go grateful that it was Chris and the kids and the dog. Try keeping up with a 4-legged animal! I resolved that I would run across the finish line and that I did! I even pushed myself and beat out the person ahead of me (granted she was walking with her 3 kids) BUT I did beat her to the finish line.

Overall, it was a good experience. A few minutes after crossing the finish line, I walked into Chris' arms and cried. I had finally done it! I had finally finished a race. After years of watching others around me start and finish races, I finally had my own. I had built this up in my mind. I have always been envious of others and their abilities where running is concerned. Since first hearing the poem "The Race" I have been wanting my own experience of pushing through the bad stuff to accomplish something of significance. I'm sure some of you are reading this are thinking "get over your pathetic self" but really, it is a huge deal to me. Granted I didn't run the whole race, and it was only a 5K but it was a huge accomplishment for me. It is only the beginning of a new journey for me, one that will take me on a very different path than I have been "walking" all my life. I now have a personal best to be broken upon subsequent adventures.

As mentioned before, I have shin trouble. It doesn't matter if I run or walk, I get shin splints. Even if I warm up and walk on a soft surface, I will eventually get shin splints. So I did some research and found some shin supports. They basically are just a wrap for your lower leg but they have plastic "ridges" that straddle your shin to provide extra support. When I got home after the race, this is what my shins looked like:

I guess it gives new meaning to the words "race tracks". BTW, I do think they helped, but didn't work the miracle I was looking for. Anyone have the secret to safe, pain free running?