Thirteen!
It’s yet another milestone (heh) in my running journey. Ultimately, this is the longest running distance that the 10K clinic at RR will do. The coach wrote in an email that this distance is meant to encourage people to move up to the half-marathon clinic. Hahah. Well, that statement wasn’t meant for me. Not yet.
The group was sort of small today. I was, once again, the only 10K newbie present. Unfortunately there no group leaders showed up, so the coach was the only one there to shepherd the group. About a minute or two into the run he dropped back to tell me the route and where the turn around points were just in case I wanted to turn around and shorten the route. He warned me that he wouldn’t be available this time to be with me. Luckily, a group leader from the half-marathon clinic was running nearby and said that she’d run slow beside me. The two talked about the route, and all was well. So I did have someone to run with after all.
I’m so glad that someone was there to nudge me along. She told me all about how she started out in the learn to run groups cursing having to run 2 minute intervals and how she worked her way up and is now doing the half-marathon clinic. Kind of inspirational. I mean, if I want to get to that point, it’ll be a while for me because I’m simply not strong enough yet. However, I know it’s achievable, right?
Anyway, early on I was feeling aches and pains here and there. There weren’t any sharp pains or anything debilitating so I just pushed through it. Part of the cause was also the fact that the route was really hilly. The aches faded as I got warmed up. And I was warm because I decided to wear pants today. I figured, just because I can get away with wearing shorts why should I? Ding ding ding! Light bulb moment!
Eventually, we got to one of the bailing points. She said that if I wanted to cut it to 10K we could turn on this one road or we could just keep going. She asked if I was feeling strong. “Yeeees,” I responded. I think my response was a little long and drawn out, but it did come from the heart. Yeah, I was a bit tired, but I told her that I just wanted to be able to say that I did the distance. So we kept going. Eventually, we got to the 12K turn around point. She asked again if I felt strong enough to keep going. I figured that if I’m at that point, what’s another kilometre? “I came here to do 13! Let’s do it!” I was emphatic. So, we just hustled along.
I felt slow, but steady. At some point I think I just became unconscious of what my legs were doing. My mind just focused on my surroundings. I was taking in the cool breeze and paying attention to the traffic passing by. I wasn’t bored–not at all. At some point I looked at my watch and was shocked to realize that I’d been out there for an hour already. Time passes by quickly enough out there.
When we got to the final leg–the final kilometre, I suddenly found it very difficult to maintain a good pace. My body was saying “Good grief! Take a break!” Since we were already so close, the leader and I decided to just push through and skip the intended break. That probably lead to the fatigue. However, I was just screaming at myself in my mind: “You’re almost there. Stay strong!” That was the only thing keeping me going forward.
Well, when I made it back, I was ecstatic. Why wouldn’t I be? I mean, damn, 13K. That’s an incredible distance considering my previous athletic background, eh? It took 1:52 to do the run. I’m sure the others arrived half an hour earlier, but whatever. While we stretched out, I thanked that run leader. Seriously, she really aided me by giving allowing me to feed off of her energy. She really seemed quite psyched for me for having completed the distance. I was so thankful. In the store, I met the coach who was just about on his way out. “You made it back!” he exclaimed. Hahah. He was happy for me as well.
So, I’ve reached the distance goal for this period! Whoo! All that’s left is the race taking place this Sunday. Mentally, I’m not sure if I’m ready for this race. Even though I’ve done the distance, racing is another matter. I can’t go fast! Of course, my goal would be just to finish. Still. Anyway, we’ll see if I’m in the right state of mind for it.
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