Areo, Behind-the-Scenes of the Sinking (For Note Readers Only)

Well, thank you for a fun time.
The first group I ran in
had 8 runners.
I'm assuming everyone reading my note knows me, so please forgive me if you're wondering who some of these people are.

However, a 5000m time trial is tough, even though I was prepared for it.
I signed up declaring I'd break 25 minutes.
Well... I did manage to break 25 minutes.
But the content, you know...
Walking because I couldn't hold on during a 5000m race...
That's just not right.
I'm the only one who ended up like that.
In a sense, it feels like I brought it on myself, and while this might sound like an excuse, I'm writing it here since not many people will see it on Note.

The distance is so long I don't even know how to run it, and I have almost no experience on an athletics track.
Just that alone made me wonder what I should do.
For about a week leading up to this, I incorporated training tailored to it.
I even thought about the logistics after arriving at the venue.
But I knew that since it was my first time participating and my first time at the venue, there was no guarantee things would go as planned.

So, on the day.
As a disclaimer, no one is to blame.
It's the result of my own poor judgment and lack of ability, so please understand.

I arrived at the site earlier than the opening time.
It was raining a little (it had been pouring just a while ago).
There were already many cars parked in the lot.
Together with Koma-chan runner and Maguro-san (Asa runner Tomo-san came later), I met Yume-no-zomi runner, Sakarunner-san, and Kiyo-san.
I was immediately kidnapped by Sakarunner-san, whom I finally met, and taken into a car.
For a talk recording for stand fm?
It took unexpectedly long, and Koma-chan carried my luggage from the car (Koma-chan really is a kind person).
After that, I entered the venue.
I met Yasuke-san for the first time at the reception.
I'm sure I greeted Eba-san, Mito-san, Bocchi MJ-san, and others, but my memory is fuzzy.
In the locker room, I met masarun122-san and others whose names I don't know.

I changed clothes for now.
Since it was drizzling, I wore my warm-up shoes as planned.
Things started getting hectic from around there.
I wonder if I greeted or talked to a few people after going outside.
Then the opening ceremony started.
After that, thinking I didn't have much time, I did a warm-up.
Together with Terarin-san.
I asked about what to be careful of on a rainy track.
He said looking at the road surface, it should be fine.
Once I finished one lap, the first group gathered to take a photo.
At this point, nothing was going according to plan, and I was panicking.
After the photo, I dashed to the locker room to change shoes and, if there was time, my shirt.
I struggled with opening the lock and getting the shoes out of the bag.
Meanwhile, I could hear the announcements outside.
Wait, are they already calling the athletes?
I'm third in line, so I frantically changed my shoes and went out.
I managed to make it in time.

While heading to the starting position, I muttered to myself, 'Oh, I didn't hydrate, I wonder if I'll be okay.'
While the starter was preparing, I did just two short strides and lined up.
At this point, I didn't even know how I should run.

And then the start.
Anyway, I'll go without panicking in the beginning.
I thought about not getting swept up by those around me, but before I knew it, I was behind Terarin-san.
Honestly, I thought, 'Huh? Is the pace fast? Can I keep this up?'
I was in a 'what do I do, what do I do' state.
I was also wondering if I could keep track of how many laps I had left without making a mistake.
At the start, I messed up the GARMIN button, so I couldn't even tell the situation, and my head was spinning.
In the end, since thinking didn't help, I just followed the pacer, Terarin-san.

Maybe it was after the halfway point.
No, this is bad, it's painful.
My side started hurting.
Once that happens, even a few hundred meters feel long.
There are still many laps to go.
Even though Terarin-san called out to me sometimes, I gradually fell behind and started getting passed from behind.
And finally, I couldn't take it anymore and walked.
It was pathetic.
My mind was screaming, 'It's too painful, pull yourself together!'

I managed to calm down a little and started running again.
My body felt heavy.
I was passed by several people, and I didn't even know my position.
My heart was screaming that it was almost over.
After a while, another blow.
It felt a bit different from nausea, but I felt like I was going to throw up.
My mouth felt sticky.
I kept going while wiping around my mouth, but I felt sick.
This is being broadcast live, right?
If I throw up, that's a broadcast accident.
Are they going to keep the archive?
If so, I need to ask them to process it with sparkles.
I'm thinking about things like that even at a time like this.

One lap to go.
Zakky-san is ahead.
Wow, that's a tricky distance.
Can I catch up? No, maybe it's impossible.
No matter how I look at it, he doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Then Eba-san.
He ran beside me and cheered me on, saying I could do it.
There's less than 200m left, so if I do what I always do, I might make it.
So, I picked up the pace.
I ignored the feeling of wanting to throw up.
I passed Zakky-san.
But I might get passed back.
I don't know if I can keep it up, but I'm going for it.
I somehow managed to escape just in time.

There were cones lined up before the finish line, and since it was a lap race, I went way to the right thinking I had to go to the outside.
I guess I could have just stayed as I was.
My mouth was all sticky, so I went straight to the water fountain after finishing.
I washed my face, rinsed my mouth, and went back to the locker to hydrate.

Well, I'm glad I didn't end up throwing up.
Actually, I was planning to eat a little jelly.
It was the right decision to stop that.

Even looking at my GARMIN, I set it late on top of the warm-up time, so I have no idea what my time was.
As far as I can see from the records later, it was 24 minutes and 16 seconds.
I'm embarrassed that I even had thoughts of breaking 24 minutes.

I was moved by masarun122-san's courage to go for it from the very beginning.
I was also moved by everyone fighting for their respective goals.
It seems some didn't get the results they wanted, but they ran wonderfully.
Everyone hung in there and endured.
Compared to that, I...

As the days go by, my sense of shame grows.
There was another blow, but I might write about that separately.