Racing Again

I had another race this past weekend...and even though I didn't get to train as much as I wanted to, I actually improved my overall time by 3 minutes, 47 seconds to complete the race in 38 minutes, 13 seconds. This means I ran a 12 minute, 24 second mile which is faster than I have ever run (although I have never been measured in all the soccer I have played).

I have never been a runner...always had to have a soccer ball in front of me to get going but a few years ago my husband started helping me to run without a soccer ball and I have been sort of interested in getting better at it ever since then. I was doing 5Ks whenever I could, but I always walked them. In January, I didn't really have a plan to run the 5K I did, but it was so cold that running was the only way to stay warm. That sort of started this most recent streak.

Anyhow the day of the race, I had a monthly visitor show up, and didn't start the race feeling like I was going to do well. My legs felt heavy and I really felt like I had to keep pushing to keep going. I just kept finding landmarks in front of me and talking myself into running to the next one. Before I hit the one mile mark, I was already starting to feel better. The first few minutes are the hardest for me...the entire time my brain is trying to convince me to stop, and I was able to get past it this time without it stopping me. I actually know exactly when that happened and it felt great to reach the one mile mark without having stopped once.

I did walk the biggest climb in elevation, but then kept making myself start running again and I guess it paid off because I never expected to have that much improvement in this race (in fact, I was expecting to do worse than my April race). Of course that means I need to keep it up for the next race but I think all the interval training I have been doing on the hills near my house will help. If nothing else, my legs feel and look better.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Mom Visit