and now for something completely different

I paid money to wake up before daylight on a Sunday morning and run three miles. Today I ran my first race - Dolphin South End Runner's Club Waterfront 5K. Above is a photo of me and my good buddy/running partner Tom before the race. I like to work Puma and Adidas at the same time, scandalous, I know.

I hydrated all day yesterday, losing count of how many bottles of water I drank. I didn't carbo-load - do people actually do that? - but had a balanced dinner of chicken and rice, plus a boatload of fruit before bed. I watched a Meryl Streep movie to relax and did my daily meditation. And as my head hit the pillow, so did my nerves. Thoughts of failure, crowd anxiety, and weather phobia rushed through my mind. I had an awful night of sleep, four solid hours of nightmares and then restlessness.

But I got my ass out of bed on time. I had a bowl of oatmeal and half of a banana, plus a small glass of water. I took a quick shower, and as Andy drove me to the waterfront, was still questioning what the hell I thought I was doing. As soon as we exited the car, I felt a wave of relief. There were runners of all shapes and levels - I was not intimidated. The turnout was low, but a fun crowd - perfect practice race for the bigger 5K in February. And the rain storms let up this morning, as El Nino has been pouding San Francisco with very un-California weather for the past week.

The route began at the North point of Fisherman's Wharf and followed Jefferson St along the water, so the race was both scenic and busy - tourists cheered us on and were interesting obstacles to dart around. I ran the first mile with Tom, and he regularly checked his Nano/Nike+, noting our 9'13 pace. I eventually started to feel behind and urged him to go ahead without me. The last thing I wanted was to tire quickly in a rinky dink 5K. The temperature was chilly, but I was sweating in no time. I felt my body working hard, but was careful not to push the pace. I weaved ahead of runners and lagged behind others. I never felt too fast or too slow. I started to cramp during the last mile, but pushed ahead for a stellar finish. I was shocked to glance at my Nano and note my time - 28:34 !!

My original goal was to beat my friend Tom. Friendly competition can't hurt, but I didn't want to be a sore loser, so decided I would be happy with a 31:00 finish. I guess there's a reason they call it a race. I am still in disbelief I kept a sub-10 minute mile the entire time - a goal I thought would take me months to achieve. And most importantly, I had fun - racing with a friend, being cheered on by my husband and even the homeless (only in San Francisco). We celebrated with brunch and tea. Oh, and I have a ribbon. My first!

Andy caught my epic finish on camera. That is actually someone else yelling Go, Boston! Small world, this place is.

I would like to give a shout out to some amazing people who were invaluable to my running over the past several months. I know today was only a 5K, but the hardest part is getting out the door and I almost didn't make it this morning.

• Tom, for being an incredible friend, running partner and coach.
• G, for her many emails and kind words - the inspiration and information.
• Rachel, for her endless encouragement and being all around super woman.
• Andy, for always pushing me out the door (except on cold, cuddly mornings)
• My Brooks Infiniti 2, for allowing me to run like a ninja.

Next up - Chinese New Year Run 5K on February 24. Year of the Tiger, bitches.