I did it!! I did my very 1st 10k! I woke up way excited about the day. I felt that I was physically prepared and mentally psyched up. I didn't really eat that good the night before, and that morning I was too excited to eat. I had looked at the map, looked at the elevation changes, and knew that it was going to be a gradual uphill climb for the first 3 miles.
When we started, I was in the middle of the pack. I finally hit that one mile mark, thinking "OK, only 2 more to go, then it's all downhill." I was running a little quicker than I thought, clocking the 1 mile mark at 10.45, so a little less than an 11 minute mile. Thinking this is good, especially since it was uphill. Well, I kept thinking "slow and steady." People kept passing me like I was some old granny! One person in particular, wearing light blue shoes. She would pass me, then start to walk and I would catch her, then she would start running again and leave me behind. We played cat and mouse until the 3 mile mark (that is where we turned around). Heading down the canyon, she was still about 10 feet in front of me. Slow and steady. I finally caught up with her and passed her.
At about mile 5, a killer hill from you know where was facing me. Up, up, up. Almost made it up running the entire way, then my thighs were burning. I walked to get to the top where it leveled out, then back to my steady pace.
Lesson Learned: should have incorporated more hills in my training.
It didn't matter that I started out in the middle and everybody and their dog, literally a black lab, passed me. I was doing this for me. My goal......My accomplishment. "Today I will compete only with myself." And guess what? I did it in 1 hour 9 minutes. I was hoping a little closer to the 1 hour mark, but hey, I finished. Almost last, but I finished and that was my goal. My legs did not cramp up, did not have digestive troubles, no dizziness, no nausea. My foot/heel was a little sore, but it hurt before the race, so I don't really count that.
My daughter Jacque ran the 5k with her friend Josie and Josie's dad, Danny. Jacque did it in 34 minutes, Josie in 33. It was fun to have Jacque and Josie cheering me on as I came into the finish. I could hear "go MOM," and there was my little loo hoo, running the last 100 feet with me. This was better than any 1st place.
Oh, some 14 year old boy finished the 10k in like 37 minutes!! It takes me about 33 minutes to run a 5k. So as I am trudging up the canyon, here comes that kid going the other way! What the CRAP!
At the time of the event, I was thinking that this is a hard course. After..........it was a good and challenging course. I would do this again.
Saturday. Going to test out my new Nike shoes, new running belt, and my snazzy reflector vest! It started out as a raining morning. Not too much rain though, just enough to keep me cool. Decided to run through Hyrum today, then come home on the highway. Today I tried out my new running belt that I got for Mother's Day. It has a little pocket in the back and holds 2 small water bottles. Decided to go with one water and one Gatorade. Took my phone, camera, and Jelly Belly Sports Jelly Beans with me today. Figured I would need a boost somewhere along the road.
