I got to participate in my very first 10K race on Saturday, Race for Grace.
Not only did it help me meet my goal of completing a 10K race, but it was for a great cause and I had so much fun!
I also got to meet a fellow blogger and fellow Christian, Andrea who blogs over at Life is Beautiful. (Check out her recap.)
Truth be told, I was debating on not attending the race the morning of.
You see, the race was 2 hours away from where I live. I thought it would be a good idea to be able to shower sooner than 2 hours after the race, so me and the BF decided to get a hotel. The night before the race, however, we didn’t make it to the hotel until almost 10pm.
I like my sleep, and I was super nervous about the race, so needless to say, this stressed me out a bit.
Nevertheless, I set the alarm for 5:45. I ended up hitting snooze until 6:30. Doh.
Lesson 1: Plan on a way to get 8 hours of sleep.
We ordered breakfast since we were originally planning on having it in the hotel’s dining room, but now I needed time to get ready.
Then there was talk of tornadoes in the afternoon in the area between where the race was and my home.
We debated and debated on whether we should just head home after breakfast or run the race and shower really fast.
I ended up texting Andrea as I was debating this, “Have you checked the weather?” She responded, “Looks perfect now.” And realized, I should probably just go ahead and run.
When I was getting my things together, I realized I didn’t have my ipod. I feared boredom since when I am alone on a long run, I do tend to get bored. This stressed me out most of the morning, even during the race for awhile.
Lesson 2: Have all of your supplies.
We finally got there (room service took FOREVER) about 30 minutes before the race was starting.
We met Andrea (who was holding a sign that said DailyMile, which is the online running site we met on) and her husband Dave. It just so happens that the BF’s name is Dave as well. I love it when I have an easy way to remember names!
It was pretty chilly, so I started out with two jackets on. Yes, two. And even then I was cold!
The plan was to take off at least one of the jackets before the race started, but it was just so friggin cold!
It wasn’t until mile 2 that I realized, um, I am sweating like a crazy person.
Lesson 3: You will get warmer after 2 miles and won’t need two jackets in 50 degree weather.
Since I was so nervous about this race, I started out really slow. I was pretty much at the back of the line and couldn’t even see Andrea and Dave any longer.
I just focused on relaxed breathing and took in my surroundings. I noticed that I was behind a guy pushing a running stroller. Not cool. I made a mental note that I must not finish behind him.
I started to pick up the pace after mile 2 and met up with Andrea and Dave. I am SO GLAD I did!
Dave was super entertaining and they both were so kind to the volunteers, thanking each of them. They even both stopped and walked with me around mile 3 when I needed to take off my jackets because the innermost one was pretty much soaked.
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| My new friends! |
Lesson 4: Run with friends.
The rest of the run felt absolutely effortless. It amazed me. I realized that I had been training my body to be able to run, and it was running! My breathing was still good mile 4 and 5 and I didn’t have to walk at all!
So the plan was to speed up on the last mile, so said Andrea and her husband. I agreed.
At mile 5, I picked up the pace. We started passing people and I felt like a rockstar. We lost Dave somewhere and Andrea told me it was fine, he would catch up later.
I continued to pick up the pace, getting excited at how awesome I felt at the end of the race.
Lesson 5: You are faster than you think.
Somewhere close to mile 5.75, I made a comment that my arms were really cold. Andrea said, “Is that why we’re running so fast?”
I remember thinking that she must not be feeling as good as I am, but we were SO CLOSE!
We got to mile 6 and I got really excited, for a minute thinking the race was over. 10K=6.2 miles. Duh Amanda.
Andrea said, “It’s the last .2 miles that get ya!” I laughed and probably sped up even more.
As I saw the end of the race ahead of me, the crowd was cheering and it was surreal.
No one cheers for me when I’m exhausted running miles on the treadmill or running up the beast of a hill in my neighborhood.
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| No, this was not my time. I wish! |
Lesson 6: It is so cool to have people cheering you on when you run.
Andrea tells me, “Smile for the cameras! Go! Run!” And I realize she’s letting me pass her up. That’s a good friend for ya!
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| Thank you God for giving me legs that can run 6.2 miles! |
It turns out the BF had gotten my camera out of the car and was snapping pictures for me. I heart him so much!!
Lesson 7: Bring BF with me to races because he is awesome.
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| Dave (Andrea’s hubby), Andrea, Me |
My final time: 1:05:39 for a 10:36 pace overall.
Apparently we were going at an 8:55 pace for the last mile. Speedy!
I felt great, but didn’t take enough time to stretch…so I am still a little sore today.
Lesson 8: Stretch properly after the race, no matter how great you feel.
I am insanely glad I did the race! Got one of my goals accomplished, made some new friends, and didn’t get taken away by a tornado. Good day. 😉
Thank you God for allowing us to run the race AND get home safely!
Happy Monday everyone!
What have you learned from racing?
Do you have any races coming up? Are you nervous? My first ever half-marathon is May 20th!! Super nervous!!
P.S. Check out my past two Running for Newbies guest posts:
Running Fuel
Planning
