The 10K

Naturally, I meant to update my blog several times before running my big 10K race – and, naturally, I never got much of a chance to do it.

December has been a very hectic month, with both a magazine and a 12-page newsletter due, not to mention Christmas and a 10K race booked on December 15th. Not much “me” time left for writing!

Up until December 9th, I trained diligently for the 10K race. I skipped only two 5K runs in my entire training schedule (from October 10th until December 9th), determined that I was going to do a good job. On our long runs, I was averaging about 1hour and 11 minutes for a 10K, at an easy pace. My goal? Run the 10K race in 1:05. (Unfortunately, it wasn’t a “real” race with lots of participants, but because there are no 10K races in Burlington in December, our clinic instructor organized a real, timed race from the Running room for the 15th.)

December 9th began well. Since it was Sunday, I headed to the Running Room for the Sunday morning run. We were supposed to run 13K – the longest run of our entire clinic. In less than a week, the race would be over.

I had a great run that morning. Took it at a nice, easy pace, and did the 13K easily. Not too tired, lots of stamina – I was ready for this race.

Then came Monday. It started fine, and we had a good day. But Chris had been sick with a bit of a flu since Friday, although he seemed to be on the mend. Monday night, we found out no one was okay. Andrew was sick three times, Chris was sick twice, and to top it all off, I got hit hard by the stomach flu myself.

I spent all of Tuesday in bed, praying for a speedy death. For someone who is rarely sick, this illness quite literally knocked me on my ass. I couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t move, couldn’t eat and couldn’t drink. (Keep in mind that work is also insanely busy at this point, and I can ill afford to take a day off.)

By Wednesday I was mobile (and working), but still not good. I couldn’t eat, and couldn’t walk up the stairs without getting winded and feeling nauseous. I guess I wasn’t exactly going to be going for a run.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling better – but I hadn’t run all week. The training schedule went out the window. Could I run the race on Saturday morning? How would I do? Would I even be able to break the 1:05 time barrier?

Saturday morning dawned, snowy and cold. The sidewalks (and we had to run on sidewalks) were incredibly icy. Only one other person showed up for the race, a woman from my clinic who I knew was a very fast runner. Our clinic assistant offered to run with us as a pace bunny. The die was cast…

It was icy in patches, particularly on the sidewalk. And we ran as fast as we could. We looped around the streets of Burlington, avoiding ice, snow, cars and snow plows. I felt fantastic. If there was no ice, I could have flown. I hadn’t worked out since Sunday, and it was great to get back out there again.

As we headed toward the finish line, I caught sight of the race clock. One hour – and one minute. I crossed the 10K mark at 1:01:15. My clinic instructor cheered me over the line. I was in first place! (Of course, there were only three of us… I simply sprinted at the end because I still had gas in the tank.)

I had done it. Both the clinic instructor and our “pace bunny” were sure that, had the weather been good, we would have come in under an hour. Not bad for my first 10K race!

So what’s next on the training agenda? The next few weeks will be maintenance. I will add some spinning and boost my weight training, and try to get out for some more runs. (Assuming, of course, they ever clear the sidewalks after yesterday’s two feet of snow.) Then, in January, I’m re-enrolling in the 10K clinic, with a more advanced training schedule. I’ve already told my instructor I’d like to run the next 10K in 55 minutes!

Happy trails…