Well, I did it. I ran a 7K! Usually I post about how much easier the race was than I thought or how I didn’t even train. This is not the case this time!
A few months ago, Nikki asked if I wanted to do the 7K that she was doing. In my mind I was thinking, that’s only like one more mile than a 5K. I can do that, right? So I registered me and the hubby. As the race was getting closer, the Denver weather was getting worse and worse. I couldn’t find the time or get the weather to cooperate to start running training until…….last week.
I told my trainer Jameson that I was going to be doing the race and his first question was, “Have you been training?” I of course, had not. I usually just wing it and hope for the best. However, I know I can’t keep doing this. If I want to run longer distances……..I obviously have to practice longer distances. I absolutely hate running on a treadmill unless there’s someone there to keep me entertained. So all week long, James pushed my cardio during my sessions with him and would recommend how long to run on my ‘off’ days. On Friday night, I set out for a 4 mile run.
To be clear: I’m pretty sure I’ve never run that far. Ever. The most we did at school was the mile and I don’t recall ever running more than a mile or two at track practice. There is a 5K track in City Park across the street. So I started on that and thought I’d just make up the last little bit when I got to the end. Well I got lost. Twice. I kept losing the trail or not being sure and taking a stupid way. Luckily, I’ve been using Map My Run. It’s a great app for all kinds of things but feels like it was made for idiots like me who don’t know how far they ran.
On Saturday I rested. And it was good.
Sunday. Race Day. I woke up tired and already nervous about the race. Dan and I had already preplanned where to eat breakfast so we had enough fuel to get us through the race. We went to breakfast and bought bus passes. We had to travel Green for the Runnin’ of the Green right? For those that don’t know, major cities are awesome for St. Patty’s. While I didn’t get to see the Chicago River turn green this year, it was awesome to see everyone when we stepped off the bus. There was green EVERYWHERE! With 3,500 runners it was nearly impossible to keep track of the group!
I was a lot less nervous for this race than I have for the last two. I had practiced the distance and knew I could at least survive and cross the finish line. My error was in not looking harder at the race route. There were several hills and overpasses along the route. I ran the first mile pretty quickly: 9 mins. Then the route got hard. The uphills would take everything I had and then I would want to walk the down hill. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I was doing it backwards. On the rest of the hills I would try to walk as fast as I could up and then race down to make up the time. Also, it’s a lot easier to go fast as your going downhill. Mile 2-3 was pretty brutal. When I got to the mile 3 marker, I really wanted it to be over. But I kept going anyway. I alternated between running and walking quickly as little as possible but I felt like I couldn’t run as long or as fast as I wanted. On the last uphill, I had to walk. When I turned the corner, the finish line was right there.
When I crossed the finish line, I was happy with my time, but not how I ran the race. I finished 4.52 miles in 48:56 minutes. When I finished I felt like I could have run faster and pushed myself harder. But now I have the confidence that I can run that far and hopefully next time I can have enough confidence to push myself harder. It was a brutal race but I finished!
Next Race: The Graffiti Run – 5K
Upcoming Race: THE COLFAX HALF MARATHON!!! MAY!