oo4. Training? Who needs training?

This past weekend, I ran a 5k with zero training. In fact, I signed up for it only about two hours before the actual race began.

Crazy, right?

Diabetes limits my impulsivity (Is that a word? It is now, I guess) in so many ways. I don’t get to just grab a cupcake and eat it without a second thought. So much of my life for the past almost 5 years has been planning, provisioning, and preparation.

However, on Saturday when my friends Chris and Chad said they were running a 5K that night and asked if Allen and I were going to be there, I decided on the spot that I wanted to do it. I decided to be impulsive because, you know what, fuck diabetes!

Now, it’s been two years since I’ve ran at all. The last 5K I did was walked and even that one was almost two years ago. So I went into this 5K knowing that if I even crossed the finish line, then that was an accomplishment.

The best part? I had already committed to my friend Alli’s virtual 5K for the same day. When I decided to sign up for the 5K that night, I had already walked a 5K distance during the day – but I figured I might as well tag on an actual 5K on top of it!

The race was Chris and Chad’s first ever. Chad had been training for a couple months, and Chris hadn’t trained much. However we were all super excited to give it our best shot. The coolest part was that it was a night race, so everyone had tons of glow stick bracelets, necklaces and other light-up gear.

Allen and I started out together, but about a half-mile in we split up, and I didn’t see him again. I saw Chad at one point the we passed each other on a down-and-back stretch (which apparently I also passed Allen, but I was too in the zone at that point I guess). I never saw Chris until the finish line because he was WAY ahead of the rest of us.

My first 5K (with two months of training) was done in 38:15. I did this one with zero preparation in 40:31 (although the official race time showed 36:35!?!) I couldn’t even believe it. I kicked some serious butt and honestly, I had SO much fun.

I also finished 12th in my age group… out of 14, but who’s counting?

I liked the fact that the course was dark and there wasn’t a ton of spectators for most of it so I could occasionally die in peace, lol. For most of the race after mile 1 I was by myself. Plus, it was a flat course which was fantastic.

My blood sugar was AWFUL when I started the race (330+!) which is definitely NOT ideal. I was worried I’d be super high the entire time and feel like death, but it came down somewhat quickly once I got moving. After mile 2 I had double-down arrows. Thankfully I had my Apple Watch on and was able to keep pretty close tabs on my levels, and ended the race at 170, which still isn’t great but definitely isn’t bad either.

Aaaaaand somehow I’ve talked myself into running another race this coming weekend. I must be insane. (I’m definitely insane).