Race Recap: A 10k On My Own

I wanted to run in a race every month this year, but between schedule conflicts and budget constraints, I wasn’t able to register for a race in March. I was determined, though, to run a race. Particularly to run a 10k. So I mapped out a route from my house, set my Endomondo to race against my own PR, and went on my way.

The sun was shining, but deceiving. It was barely over 20 degrees when I started. I dressed in layers with ear warmer, neck warmer, and gloves to boot. I set out in one direction to do a 5k loop. This direction had a fairly decent hill to climb, and I purposely chose to do this section first. My first mile was a decent pace, just over 13 minutes. My second mile, however, was way slower. I told myself to pick up the pace, to be consistent. I’m always aiming for negative splits, but haven’t gotten there yet. As I finished my first 5k loop, I was getting overheated, so I took my jacket off and threw it on my porch before I started the second 5k loop in a different direction. I was lucky that I didn’t have to stop at all for traffic at any street crossings.

As I started the second 5k loop, I told myself… you GOT this. This route is NOTHING. You run this all the time and it is easy! You’re more than halfway there! I noticed more than anything that my shoulders were sore. When I finally finished my race, I was exhausted. My knees were a little sore, and my hips were definitely sore. (Thinking I might be having IT band issues… time to do some roller exercises!) But I accomplished my goal…

Although I set out to race against myself, I honestly didn’t care if I beat my PR time. My goal was to run a 10k without stopping to walk. Yeah, I run slow. I always have. Even at my very best, I ran a 5k at a little less than 12 minute pace. Today my pace was over 13 minutes per mile. But guess what? I never stopped. I didn’t walk. I ran the whole 10k!

When I started running, I never thought I would ever run a whole 5k. And then I did. After that I thought, well, there’s no way I’d ever be able to run a whole 10k. Today I proved myself wrong again. Now my sights are set on my ultimate goal – a half marathon. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to run a whole half marathon. For my first I will probably run/walk (I am usually faster when I do that, anyway).  But someday I hope to prove myself wrong about that, too.