Then Lauren Said: First Race Questions

I have a confession: My favorite kind of guest posts come from readers of THS who don’t have a healthy living blog themselves.  I’m not sure what it is exactly but I love being able to give someone the opportunity to dip their toes in the wonderful world of this blogging community. 

Not too long ago, Lauren and I started a conversation via email about running and races. The conversing continued and I knew that I needed to introduce you all to this super sweet girl and her witty writing, so I asked her to share a bit on her first race experience.  I know a few of you are training for, or thinking about training for, your first 5K right now – these tips from Lauren will surely help you!  [I wish I had them when I went to my first race.]

Hi THS readers! I’m Lauren. I don’t write a healthy living blog, but I emailed Heather to thank her for being awesome and inspiring me to do things I didn’t think I would ever do (like run for fun) and she asked me to keep her updated with my healthy living and racing progress. I sent her probably more pictures than she wanted, and she asked me to write a guest post for THS about my first race. So, if you’re anxious about your first race (or just want to reflect fondly on yours and snicker at my ridiculousness), here’s my first race story.

The first thing you have to know is that I have issues with new situations. Even things like going to a new restaurant and having to ask whether you seat yourself or you wait to be seated? Freaks me out. So when I started running, I didn’t tell anyone. In January of 2009, I paid for and scheduled my first 5K – an Easter-weekend 2010 5K – and ran my first race! In October 2011. Oops.

So, as someone who is a new runner, is endlessly trying to live a healthier life despite being overweight for most of it so far, and is terrified of new situations, I think I’m fairly qualified to say: If I can do it, you can do it. Here are some questions I had before my first 5K, and my answers, based on my experience with my first race. I’m by no means a running expert, obvs.

1. How do I get started? First, sign up for a race! You will be more dedicated to your training if you sign up and pay for a race. It is true. Do it! Just don’t do what I did in 2009 and not mention it to anyone. Tell Facebook, Twitter, your parents, Heather, me, whoever. Then you’re accountable to more than losing the race entry fee. I read a number of plans, including Couch to 5K, and read lots of blogs (including THS!) before I drafted a training schedule.
2. Okay, I’m convinced. Now which race do I sign up for?I highly recommend using the Google to find a race that:
   1. Is near your house.
   2. You can get a friend/partner/co-worker/person who loves you because you came from the same parents/etc. to go with you. This will prevent you from bailing out at the last minute. Not that you would do that.
   3. Is sponsored by a bar. My first race was the Dunedin Brewery 5K. I don’t know if there can be a more relaxed crowd–some people were definitely taste-testing before the race. I didn’t, but I wouldn’t judge you if you did.
3. What should I eat? On race day, eat something you would normally eat before going running (or on a long walk.) If you are like me, you may be: tense, anxious, super excited, terrified, bouncy, or all of the above, so you do not want your belly too full, too empty, or angry because of too many cookies. Mmm, cookies.
4. When do I have to get there? After I signed up for the race on Active.com, the race organizers sent reminder emails about the process–when and where runners needed to be on race day. This helped my anxiety immensely. My girlfriend and I got there about 10 minutes early, which meant a fair bit of standing around and waiting, but less anxiety for me about being late.
5. What do I bring? I ran wearing: my contacts, my iPod shuffle, my shoes, my clothes, my headband, and my hair clips to keep my headband on. I like to be over-prepared, though, so I also brought: my camera, my phone, Band-Aids, an extra headband, an extra pair of contacts, sunglasses, water, a Clif bar, a soda, a banana, a change of clothes (for the party afterwards – see #2c), a pair of flip-flops, and the printed confirmation from Active.com.
6. What happens when I get there?At my first race, even though I was early, there were lots of people there already, which made it easy to figure out where to go. As you followed the crowd, there were big signs that said: Step 1: Find Your Name and Number. Step 2: Get Your Bib. Step 3: Get Your Chip. Step 4: Get Your Shirt and Cup.So first, you check the board for your number. Second, you go to the people at tables who will give you your bib (with the number on it) and pins. The race bib has holes in it, and you will pin your bib to your shirt, on your belly, with the pins. I am anal so I grabbed six pins, in case, I guess, my pins were irreparably bent and there was a mad rush on pins and they ran out.

   I held onto my bib and went to the next step – getting my timing chip and timing chip holder thing. The holder thing was a Velcro ankle bracelet that you put the chip on. Lots of people put the chip upside down and had to fix it. I watched them and put mine on with the writing facing up. If you can buckle a belt, you can do this. Then I got my race t-shirt and my cup, so I brought those back to the car (another reason it was good to be there a bit early), where I pinned my bib on my shirt.

   The next step was using the bathroom. Even for a fairly small race, there was quite a line, so make sure you leave yourself enough time.

7. Where do I start? I started in the middle of the pack, figuring that I wouldn’t be the slowest or the fastest, so, thus, the middle. Everyone was bunched up at the beginning, and I wished I had walked more because running in a pack was more like running in place. Start wherever you feel comfortable, but probably in the middle or back — in the front there will be super speedy people who finish a 5K in less than 20 minutes. Whoa.
8. Can I take walking breaks? Of course! I walked twice during my first 5K, some people walked about every 30 seconds, and some people walked the whole time, including a woman in a denim miniskirt, a child under the age of 5 (so cute!), and many people decades older than me. The only thing you have to remember about walking is to be a courteous walker – when you stop, look behind you and pull off to the side so that someone running behind you doesn’t slam into you.
9. Okay, what happens when I finish? Celebrate! Yay! But first, move out of the way so that other people who have sprinted through the finish line behind you don’t tackle you. Then, you may be able to collect water, snacks, medals or whatnot, and catch your breath. You will also need to give back your timing chip and the little ankle bracelet you wore it on. You did it! Now go re-hydrate and think about how awesome it is that you just finished your first race.

I hope that was helpful for those of you lovely THS readers who are considering their first race! Good luck and happy racing! You can follow me on the Twitter @LaurenKlinger or, if you’re into that sort of thing, read my blog at http://rejectthepremise.com.

 

If you have run in a race before: What tips/answers would you give to someone who was running their first race soon?
If you are thinking about/training for your first race: What are you most excited for? What are you most nervous for?