My Legs Hurt

I ran a 5k on Saturday that was part of the Oakland Running Festival (also hosting a half- and full marathon, a team relay marathon, and a fun kids' run).  This was the first 5k I was going to run without headphones or a watch, and the first 5k I've ran since St. Patty's Day, 2008!  (See, I'm not always a sloppy drunk on St. Patty's Day.)  I still wanted to try and get in under 30 minutes.  The other big goal was to not, at any point, stop and walk.

I feel like it rained continuously for two weeks building up to the 5k.  I tried running the Sunday before, got caught in a downpour, and ended up getting sick.  All things aside, Wednesday rolled around and I was restless and worried that I haven't had any real physical activity.  It was still pouring out, so I decided to get out my kettlebell.  It's not quite a full pood (got it for Christmas), so I decided to swing it around like crazy.  My legs never really got sore, so I did it for a while.  The next day at work, I was surprised how tight my legs were.  By Friday, I was ridiculously stiff, and I was praying that it would go away by race time.  I did a bunch of stretches before bed.  By race time, I was still really stiff and sore, and nervous because of it.  But I sucked it up.

I didn't finish under 30, but I did do it without stopping.  I was 349th out of 889 people.  Annie, cheering loudly from the side, snapped a few pictures:

I started at the back, knowing I was slow, but apparently got behind the walkers....

Half-way point.  Still going strong.  Why are my man-boobs so prominent?

Finish Line!  Look at that blur go by (and how skinny that chick is)!!

I spent some time on Sunday looking for one of those foam rollers that you can use to get kinks out of big muscles (have you seen my calves or my quads... they're gi-normous!!)  I found one for $25 at Target, but that's ridiculous.  It's a cylindrical piece of foam.  Instead, I bought a $2 pool noodle, and I can't wait to get home and see if it works well enough.  If it does, I cannot wait to celebrate my frugality!

On a more ridiculous note, the guy who won the 5k finished in 15:43, and the psycho (from San Jose) who won the marathon finished in 2:30:08.  I can't run a single mile at either of those paces.

I think I'd have a more respectable time in a bicycle race, but who am I kidding,
~RoB