I ran my first in-person race since December 2019 this weekend! After this past year, I wasn’t sure when we’d be able to have in-person road races again. But when I heard about a new race happening on the Fourth of July, I knew I had to sign up. I originally thought it was a 5K but then realized it was a 4 mile race. So I cried a bit while registering.

The race was starting at 9:30 a.m. and would take place before the town Fourth of July parade. There was a strict 60 minute limit since the parade was starting right after. I was a bit worried that I’d be last or that I’d get caught up in the start of the parade. I hadn’t been able to run as much as I wanted to prior because I’ve been busy and it’s also been 90 degrees outside. So I was just going into the race to try my best and have fun.

The race started a little after 9:30 a.m. and after the playing of the national anthem, we were off. I ran the entire first mile and my time was around my normal first mile time. I walked a little before starting to run again and I made myself run to the second mile before walking again. By this point, we were running back on the bike path in town and we’d come back out onto the road where we started that was filled with people. So I let myself walk to the end of the path before running again.

There were so many more people, and I was running by myself; people were cheering for me, maybe they felt bad that I was toward the end. There was a water stop around the 2.5 mile mark, so I stopped to take advantage of that. From there, the streets were lined with so many people and I tried my best to run but also had to stop and walk. My asthma wasn’t too bad but I was breathing a bit heavy and didn’t want to overdo it.

My 3 mile time was around 33 minutes, which was pretty good, but between mile 3 and 4, it was rough. I ended up walking more than I wanted, but my legs were getting tired and the inside of my right foot was starting to hurt. The last half mile or so was down one road, and once I turned the corner onto it, I could see the finish line. But it seemed so far away. Even though the run was technically 4.2 miles, I made myself run the last part and I sprinted across the finish line.

My time was 48:51, which I’ll take. This was my first race in 580 days and my longest race distance to date. So I was just there to have fun and enjoy the day. I ended up finishing 118 out of 129 🤷🏻‍♀️ And I got to see so many dogs! I didn’t keep track but there were a bunch of doggos out enjoying the day.

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We stayed to watch the parade after, and it was actually a lot of fun. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone to a parade, but it finally felt like things were normal again. I’m really hoping they do this race again next year—this was the first annual once—because I’d totally do it.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!