Wednesday, May 5, 2010

My First Race

April 24th, 2010 I completed my first race ever! In my list of new years resolutions this completed three(well at least two) different items:
1) Sign up for a race (check)
2) Train for a race (not 100% for this one)
3) Complete the race (check)

I signed up for this race back in January when a I convinced a couple of my hockey teammates to run with me. They are both much more experienced runners and racers than I am, but I wanted a little camaraderie on my first race. I also thought, if I was responsible for two other people getting up at the crack of dawn, I would indeed show up for the race. This logic worked perfectly.

Throughout January and February I was following a strict training schedule. My speed and distance were both increasing steadily. I even topped out at 5 miles in close to 50mins and ran three miles in under 30mins (a first for me).

And then . . . the excuses came. I got tendentious, I got sick, I got busy blah blah blah! In March and April I ran maybe twice before the race. I lost all my speed and discovered that running outside is much more difficult than running on the treadmill.
Well thanks to my two lovely teammates, I dragged myself out on race day anyways and had a great time, well not finish time, but a lot of fun.

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't sprint to the finish line because there were so many people. Throughout the race you had to dodge slower runners (I was often the one being dodged) and the road narrowed so much at the finish line, that you had to go the speed of the mob.

I finished the race in 34:28 averaging an 11:07 minute mile and came in 566/708 in my age division. Not what I was shooting for, but not terrible. I am proud of myself because I ran the entire way. That was my big goal as well as getting over any race anxiety.

I didn't get that 'I am going to die I am so tired' feeling that I thought I should at the end of the race, so I am determined to race again and race harder!

3 comments:

  1. I love your blog, especially the "No Excuses" picture. =)

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  2. Congrats on finishing your first race. Didn't you love the feeling as you crossed the finish line. All the time logging miles is worth it for that feeling.

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  3. Thanks :) It was a great feeling. I was scared to race before. Getting past that anxiety is great because racing is fun and a great way to stay motivated.

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