I Did It!!!

I ran my first 10k race on Saturday! I was pretty skeptical all week. I flipped flopped a few times every day last week thinking, "Oh, I probably should push myself. I should just rest" and then I'd get mad and go, "No way! I paid good money to run that race and I trained hard! I'm doing it!" So Friday was my official decision time. I decided to do it and I'm so glad I did!

I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning and started preparing for my run. I had some breakfast, washed my face, put my gear on. And then Steve, Anna, and I headed out the door. Since we live literally a mile from the Arboretum, we just walked the trails down to the race. I left Steve at a place where he could stand with Anna, while I walked on to where all the runners were piling up. I really wish he could have been with me on my run, I felt a little bit alone. But luckily I had my iPod, so I turned on some Randy Rogers and just tried to calm myself down (I was pretty anxious). I went and stood in the 10 minute + group and waited for the race to begin.

When the race started my heart started beating so fast. I watched as the faster runners went ahead and wished that someday that would be me up in the front of the pack. It felt like forever until we got to the start line. When I finally hit the start line, an overwhelming since of calm washed over me and I just started running. You wouldn't believe how much you have to concentrate and be aware of your surroundings at the beginning of the race. Everyone is just so packed up. It's like being in a sardine can. So you have to watch where you run, try not to trip over people's shoes or run into a runner, while trying to pass someone else. It was great to see Steve though. When I saw him I got a huge grin on my face. It's so encouraging to have him support me through this and let me do this on my own. Yes, I felt alone at the beginning of the race, but to know that this was MY thing, that he wanted me to have this experience on my own, was so amazing.

I started following these 2 ladies about 1/2 mile into the race. They were keeping a really good pace for me (not sure what it was-maybe an 11 minute mile pace) and so I focused on staying behind them until about 2.5 in. At that point, I decided I wanted to go a little bit faster and passed them. I think they may have been running the 20k anyway, so I'm glad I passed them when I did. By the time I got about 2 miles in I could see the first pack of runners already on their way back to the finish. I looked at them with longing. How can you run so fast? It must be incredible to have that kind of strength and energy!

There were 2 major hills in the course. There was the one I always encounter when I train on my long run days and then another one about .5 mile after that, which took us through a neighborhood for about a quarter of a mile. I made it up my first hill without having to walk, but that took all I had! Then when I saw the other hill, I got a little overwhelmed. I noticed a ton of people walking up the hill and about half way up decided I'd walk for a minute, too. I wish I hadn't. I probably could have paced it up the hill if I had just thought more positively. Oh well..what can you do? You live and you learn. I may be running that part of the race though more often...I think it's been really beneficial to run those hills when training instead of just staying on the main flat trail.

After those hills, I kept running. I can't tell you how good it felt to pass people. I know that sounds mean...but it just made me feel empowered. There were a few people I kept passing and then they'd pass me and we'd just do this merry-go-round. It was a little annoying with this one guy. He was sweating up a storm and he'd run really hard for a while and then the next thing I knew, I'd be passing him as he was walking. Then about 2 minutes later, he'd run past me again and I'd catch up to him not 2 minutes later-walking. Seriously, the guy was not pacing himself at all. There was also this other girl who kept the same pace as me. We'd pass each other a few times. I almost looked over and introduced myself and asked her if she ran around this area because she'd probably be fun to train with since we seemed to be at about the same level.

Towards the end I just kept focusing on how much farther I had left to go. I was most looking forward to seeing Steve again (since the race was a loop for the 10k-ers). And once I saw him again, it gave me even more strength to finish what I started! He told me later that I looked great and that I looked strong. That made me feel good. I can't remember exactly how I felt, but I remember thinking "I'm so tired. 5 more minutes, 5 more minutes" It was hard. But honestly, at about the last .15 of the race, I could see the finish and there were all these people around and I was determined to finish strong. So I did. It felt so good! I'm just really proud of myself.

A little over 2 months until my 1/2 marathon....so I really have to get on that. This next weekend, I'm pushing up the long run to 7.5 miles. Got to get the show back on the road! :)

Here is the result page:
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?posted_p=t&numPerPage=100&page=2&rsID=84236&eventClass=10K+Open&division=F+25-29&queryType=division&pubID=3