10K

Yesterday I did the BGR/AARP Inaugural 10K. I can't believe I did it. I keep looking at that finisher medal and it doesn't look real.

It was a hilly course and I couldn't run the whole thing, but I ran what I could. What bothered me wasn't the distance, but those hills! I think if the course was flat, it was possible to do the whole thing as a slow run. That is enough for hope and joy! It seems like a race is the only crowd that doesn't make me panic. I don't know if it is because of all the positive energy around me, or because I'm too busy worrying about the race itself, but in that moment I felt part of something bigger and more special than myself, and that felt wonderful. Plus, I got to meet my BGR run group for the first time; we have all been encouraging each other on the Internet. There was an initial awkwardness, and then it seemed like every woman in that room were sisters.

Pre-Race: I didn't get any sleep the night before, of course, I never do. Always afraid that I'll oversleep and miss the race or just regular pre-race jitters. During the line up I was in this panic that I was lined up wrong.

Mile 1: Awesome! I had a stride and tried to keep it nice and easy to keep my energy up.

Mile 1:03 : First hill. Made executive decision to conserve energy and walk up hill and run down hill.

Mile 2: My watch is off by 0.8 miles, which is mildly irritating.

Mile 3 & 4: I'm kinda ticked by now. That chick said there were some hills, this is ALL hills!

Mile 5: I'm really ticked by now. Five miles of hills. Big effing hills. I'm glad I over-stuffed my shoes with insoles. I want to meet the person who designed this course so I can punch her in the face.

Mile 6: When I saw the mile marker, the first thing that popped into my head was "Where the **** is that finish line?!?" I'm thinking that maybe the last mile is at least a little flat so I can at least jog the last mile. No dice! Now I'm calling the person who designed the race everything but a child of God.

Last 0.2: I told myself that it's just 0.2 of a mile left. Just push through it. I did my Rocky arms while going through the finish line. I don't know if I was the last person or not, but by that time it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that finish line. I did a 10K!

I stayed behind for a short while to celebrate with the other runners, but I was tired and desperately wanted to go home, so I told one of the run group members to say goodbye for me and I got on the road. What a journey this has been! In January, I had zero races under my belt. February, did my first 5K. Then went on to do two more 5Ks, two mud runs and two fun runs, and now my 1st 10K! I can't believe it! Eight races in eight months!

All I can say is wow.