Tom King 5k

   Yesterday was the Tom King 5k and Half Marathon.  It's a fun, flat local race that begins and ends at LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play.   Generally, I'd probably train for the Half.  As I stated - it's FLAT.  Perfect for getting a personal record.  I ran it last year, but just kind of cruised it because I had run the Disney Half the week prior.  But, rather than run the Half, I did something cooler - I ran the 5k with a group of fabulous people I have been coaching since January.
   The East Nasty Couch to 5k program started January 2nd and has been meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday since then.  Unfortunately, Nashville has had a pretty brutal winter, so this group has run through rain, sleet, snow and several days of 17-degree weather.  It was the kind of weather that most normal people would take one step outside and say "I'm not going out in that!"  But runners are apparently a different breed, because while we did lose some people over the 8 weeks, we had a good group present for every training session.
   This was actually the second time I've coached a EN C25k program, the first being last summer.  I love, love, love coaching these groups.   The program is set up for people who have never previously run; some of participants haven't exercised in many years.  To watch them go from people who couldn't run 60 seconds eight-weeks ago to run a 5k is a really cool thing.    
   The weather was perfect for a 5k.  Definitely the nicest day Nashville had seen in 2011 - clear skies and a race temp of around 55.  This race generally sees some nasty weather, so I grateful for the sunshine - especially since we'd had such bad weather for training.
   The race started at 7:30, so I got there around 6:45.  Chuck, the C25k group leader, wanted us to meet for a brief warm-up and to go over some last-minute race details.   Chuck is great.  He's been a runner for 20+ years and truly loves the sport.  He's also a great motivator, which is perfect for these kind of programs.  After he gave a little pep-talk, we broke up into our pace groups headed to the starting line.  All of the C25kers were excited and a little nervous.  Most of them had their new East Nasty shirts on, which was awesome!  ENFL!
   My pace group actually had three coaches - Heidi, Jen and me.  That way we could spread out if our group split up, which it did almost immediately.  Everyone looked good and strong.  After about 1-mile, I saw my friend (and fabulous jazz vocalist) Christina running solo.  I joined her and ran with her to the end.  The C25k program was her first time running, so it was very cool to finish her first 5k with her.
   Generally, if I'm coaching, I'd run back and try to guide a few other runners in to the finish.  However, because we finished on the field, we were kind of trapped.  So I remained at the finish to cheer on some of the other runners, including Joy and Susi from my book group.  Neither one of them had run a 5k previously either.  Joy's family brought flowers for her, which I thought was awesome, and the look of pure elation on Susi's face when she crossed the finish line is something I'll never forget.
   Hats off to all of the C25Kers!  Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey.  I hope we meet on the road often!!