It’s only now that it’s really starting to click: man, my race is only 5 days away. Holy heck, I’m excited! Months of training are leading up to this Sunday. That’s a lot to think about. Thing is, my training isn’t quite over yet.
Today I had a 10K steady run scheduled. See, that confused me because a 10K steady run doesn’t exactly mesh with the idea of tapering, right? Well, I decided to take it easy. I set my watch to time out 20 minute intervals and set out for my run. Everyone was out of the gates at a good pace, but I decided to start out much slower. My race pace isn’t anywhere near theirs, so why spend energy trying to keep up for the first bit? Whenever I try to keep up I usually fade quickly. So, I knew that I was better off just letting them fade in the distance. As much as I wanted to take it easy, I was also determined to make this an awesome run. As I approached the first stop light, it turned yellow as I was nearing it. I ended up doing something really bad: I cut across and ran in front of turning traffic. Yes, it was unsafe, but the traffic let me through. I feel guilty.
The sun was in the process of setting, and by the first 2 kilometres it was already dark. The glow of the streetlights guided me. With everyone far ahead, I actually felt quite alone. I just focused on my breathing and keeping my steps even. Eventually my watch started beeping indicating the end of my interval. I was going to take my 1 minute walk break but I was actually feeling kind of good. In a split second I decided to just continue through. My pace remained even. Soon the watch beeped again telling me that the break period was over. I just pushed through it as best I could.
As I continued on, I sort of zoned out. Without much visual stimulus, my mind was just able to wander. I suppose that was a good thing because along the way I didn’t even notice I was actually going up an incline for a period. Mentally, I knew it was there but I didn’t feel that it was excessively difficult. I’m sure the cool night weather helped. I mean, I wasn’t overheating at all. That helped to make everything else feel more relaxed.
As I hit 5K I looked at my watch and noticed that my pace was getting faster. Despite that I felt all right, so I decided to maintain the faster speed. I know we’re supposed to take it easy, but I decided to just pour myself into it. In the last 3K, I knew that I could make it back with my fastest 10K time ever, but only if I worked hard. That was enough for me to push and finish strong, and I did. I felt bloody fantastic. I did the distance continuously, and at my race pace. Whoo!
Just knowing that I can do it is such a confidence boost. I don’t plan on running Sunday continuously because the sun will surely be beating down on me and the temperature will be warmer. However, I think that I will have the confidence to push myself harder than I normally would.
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