First 10k ~ Delhi Covered Bridge Run

Today I ran my 1st 10k, that's 6.2 miles.  I have now run all the standard race distances.

I was a little nervous going into today's race because I didn't get any miles in this week. Not one.  It wasn't intentional, I just kept putting off going for a run, the downfall of not having a set training schedule, which is about to take a serious turn for the better on Monday. More on that later.  So I went in with very fresh legs but also legs that hadn't moved all week.  I did do my strength training this week, which I really believe helped me. I had a horrible nights sleep last night. I had a bad dream about the race, where it was a comedy of errors, that left me in tears at the end of the race that took me over 1.5 hours to run in my dream.  At one point, I lost my running shoes and was running in someone's muck boots.  My husband said he wish he'd known that was why I was whimpering in my sleep, he would have grabbed my Vibrams and given them back to me. That's my honey, he always has my back.

Anyway, I didn't get much sleep and we had 1.5 hour ride to the race.  The atmosphere in Delhi was great but the race was not the most organized.  The 10k and 5k start at the same time, at different starts, but going in different directions, circling around and merging in the last .3 of each race to come down the same finish line.

I ran a few blocks before we all headed to the start line to loosen up my legs.  My lungs were really tight too because it had been raining. The humidity kills my lungs but I'm glad I worked them both a bit.

The start was us all standing on the sidewalks right until the start time. Then the cops got the last of the cars out of the way,  shut down the road and the woman with the bull horn started to count down. Wait, no National Anthem? Later my husband said he was going to break into since they weren't doing it.  "5, 4, um oh 1, GO!" That was the start. Everyone was kind of laughing at how awkward the start was.

Mile 1 was mostly downhill and I could tell I was running way to fast. My garmin said 7 something for my pace. I wasn't sure I trusted it so I spent the rest of the race trying to figure out my splits based on the time. I've never done it before but I'm glad I did. I felt like I had a bit more control over my pace.

Mile 2-3 were pretty good. I felt strong. Had some ankle pain in my bad ankle but the road was at a deep angle and we had to stay on the edge because they only closed the road to traffic for the 1st half mile.

At the 5k mark I hit 29:19. That beat both my previous Sub 30 times. If only it was a 5k.  At that point I was evaluating my pace. I knew I was running faster than my normal comfortable pace and was trying to decide if I could keep up that pace.  That's when I decided to say heck with what my body says and put my headphones on and blared some very loud rock. It's really hard to think when you have music blaring in your ears.

Right before mile 4 a woman, who passed me earlier, significantly slowed down and started holding her side.  I passed her but keep looking back for a bit to make sure she was ok.  This was also where the covered bridge was. I didn't take the time this race to stop and take any pictures.

Miles 5-6.2 were rough.  My stomach decided not to agree with me. Something about when I run fast, my insides rebel.  Oh well. Nothing, short of keeling over on the race course, was going to stop me.  I'm so very grateful for the hills that I run at home because this was little hilly. There was a very short but steep hill near the end of mile 5 and I took a little gratification in training on hills at home when a women in front of me had to walk the hill.

My hubs said he'd never seen me come across the finish line the way I was, flushed and exhausted, near tears and couldn't talk or breathe.  The only other race I've left it all was when I ran Runner's World 5k last fall.

The finish line was very frustrating because the 5k and the 10k races came down the same shoot. They also only had it wide enough for 2 people and the walkers were taking up a lot of real estate. So I had to dodge around and in between a few of the groups of walkers.   It was wonderful to see my husband standing at the finish line. It was wonderful to see the finish line!!

Over all the experience was really good. I really enjoyed racing this distance and I learned quite a bit about my willingness to endure some stuff during this race.
I wanted to finish in under an hour. I wasn't 100% sure I could accomplish that.
My official time is 58:57.
Yes, I'll take that, thank you.








Comments

  1. Back to back sub 30's! Way to go! And beat those hills. I always love passing people on hills! Way to SIUP, be tough, and run strong! I know it hurts leaning it all out there, but it hurts even worse to finish at 1:00:15, knowing that you Didn't leave it all out there! Great race! :-)

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