In that good way though.
I ran my first 10K race yesterday. I loved every minute of it. More than the 5K, I have to admit. Much, much more. This race was in my city and the weather was perfect, albeit a bit on the humid side, but after the winter we had I am NOT going to complain.
My neighbor offered me a ride early so I took it and spent two hours alone, watching the crowds build and taking in all the sights. It was glorious, really, to be alone with my thoughts as I watched other runners preparing for their race. At atmosphere was friendly and cordial. Everyone had smiles on their faces.
As my start time loomed, I felt the familiar grumblings of nerves in my stomach but I was also just happy to be running again. I had taken the previous three days off to rest my legs and it was the smartest move I made. As I crossed the start line and started running, I could tell within a few minutes that my legs were happy and this was going to be a great run. I kept to a comfortable pace and at the first kilometer marker I decided to keep running and made a split-second decision to alter my plain. Normally I would have run intervals of 1 km running to 100 m walking but my legs felt strong, so I pushed myself and took walk breaks every 2 km.
1-3km. There was a beautiful cool breeze and as I found my pace, I just took everything in and watched others ahead of me. I had to weave a bit as I passed slower runners and a few walkers.
3-7km. I was starting to get hot. The breeze died and the air was thick. At the 4 km water station I saw a fire hydrant had been turned on and other runners were going through it. YES! I ran over to it and cooled down instantly. It was a glorious feeling. I got some water, drank some of my own Gatorade from my belt and kept going.
7-10km. Starting to get a bit tired. I kept my walk intervals consistent every 2 km and knew that if I kept it up I would finish strong. As I approached the 9km marker I honestly started looking for the finish shoot but it was out of my line of sight. My legs were tired but I knew I had a little more in them to push on and I went through the finish line with my arms up high and felt stronger than ever. What a great feeling!!!
I found my family and got big hugs and kisses and we walked over to the medal area. I frantically searched for my chip time and was thrilled. I really couldn’t have asked for a better day.
I woke up today with very sore quads and calves. Sore in that way you know you went out and gave it your all. I will take a few days off to rest and consider what’s next. 15k? 21.1? It all seems more possible now.