I got up at 5 am, after going to bed at 12:30. I was tired and my legs were tight and sore from pushing too hard in previous workouts this week.
We got to the park, registered, and were in place at 7:15 a.m. when the gun went off. There were a lot of people and it was easy to run faster than normal in all the excitement. I'd been worried about my legs but they didn't bother me for long. The first mile was pretty easy. I wondered if I was running too fast but it was nice and cool & I was being passed by lots of people so I didn't think I was going too fast.
The second mile we'd moved into the sun so I was getting warm. People were cheering along the parade route & it seemed that I was working harder than the runners around me (ie, they looked like they were having fun and I felt like I was getting a workout). I heard someone nearby say we were at the halfway point and had been running for 16 minutes.
By mile 3 I was tired & relieved to be 2/3 done. Someone on the sidelines yelled, "You're almost there! Just up the hill and you're done!" I hadn't realized we were heading up a hill & was disheartened. The hill was tough but I managed to keep running. I'd thought about stopping quite a few times during the race but wouldn't allow myself. I was frustrated that I even wanted to stop since the distance was familiar to me and shouldn't have been a real challenge.
Into the home stretch and I was thinking how foolish I'd been to be excited about the race. It was hard work & I was ready to be done. I'd wanted to finish in 36 minutes and could see that I had a minute and a half to get there. I didn't think I could speed up at all, so I just prayed the distance was short enough to get me there. When I saw the clock get to 35:30 I knew I'd make it & found a burst of energy to speed me up & push me through the finish line.
Afterwards I was tired, sweaty, and glad to be done. I could have sat down right there and not moved for 10 minutes. Instead I claimed my T-shirt and medal, and some fruit & water, and then went to cheer for my brother in law and sister who were running the 10k.
A few hours later I'd forgotten my resolution to not run any more races for awhile, and Phil and I were discussing when we would run next.
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