My First 10K Finished!

elg1982

I want to thank everyone for the tips and encouragement. I probably could have eaten a better meal the night before, but there was a community event I really wanted to go to that was a pot luck dinner - it was ok.

My goals for the day were:
1. Finish the race
2. (Easy) Finish under 84 minutes. (My fastest treadmill 10K)
3. (Medium) Finish under 79 minutes.
4. (Hard) Finish under 74 minutes.

The race had corrals, which was wonderful because it made the first mile a lot easier - when I did a 5K - I went about 2 or 3 rows from the back because I was a beginner and didn't realize how many walkers there were going to be. I spent the first half mile dodging strollers and dog walkers. This event was part of a larger marathon and half marathon, so while there were walkers, they were all the way at the back, and there were no strollers or tiny dogs. (I love dogs, just don't want to trip on them during a race...)

I did follow guidnca's advice and wish good luck to a random person I didn't know before the race started. We both smiled and it felt really good. I also lined up to use the bathroom 30 minutes before start, but that was almost not enough time, when I was in the stall I heard the announcer say "4 minutes to the start!". Next big race I will know to go 45 minutes beforehand.

At about the half mile mark a woman tripped and fell. Some other runners and I helped her up, and she was really shocked people wanted to make sure she was ok. It was the start of an emotional day.

I ran the first mile without stopping and then settled into what was probably a run 2 minutes walk 3 minutes pattern. My mouth felt very dry, and while I had drank at least 24 ounces of water between waking up and the race time - and I made sure to get more than 64 oz per day this week, it was still not enough. Any tips on hydration would be appreciated. Maybe I just need more water than the average person and will have to run with a water bottle. I do this in my neighborhood, but haven't yet for a race.

At each mile I checked my time and was making good progress. I thanked the volunteers who gave me water and giggled that while the water stations had blue streamers and Gatorade/Powerade was at the multicolored tables, the port-a-pottys along the route had yellow balloons.

At the 4 mile mark the clock was broken. It said 6 minutes, and having passed the 3 mile mark at 39 minutes, I knew there was no way it took me 27 minutes to do the last mile, so it wasn't 1 hour, six minutes - only a few songs had played on my mp3 player.

Just before the five mile mark, I turned a corner and a group of people were holding really amazing signs that said "YOU are amazing!" and "(Name of Our Town) Loves You!" It made me feel so good, that I wanted to cry. I picked up my pace as I ran past and blew them a kiss. It was one of my best moments running ever. I am so thankful to them.

At the five mile mark the clock said 1 hour 4 minutes. I realized that I could finish in 80 minutes, and let out a loud! "Yes!!" The last 1.2 miles took me a while because I was running out of steam. I crossed the finish line at just over 1 hour 20 minutes, but my official time was 1:19:02 - I didn't start the race as soon as the timer started because so many people were running. With the helping the lady who fell and slowing down for the photographers I can very happily say that I met my medium goal. I really couldn't be more pleased or proud. :") My husband took me out for brunch and I indulged in coffee and a mimosa. I had drastically cut alcohol and caffeine for this race and they never tasted so good.

Thanks everyone for your advice. This marks 1 month of using MFP, and I am so excited to keep going.

kamechaf

Good job!!! I can't wait till I can do a 10k!!!

rissadiane

Great job!!!!

AniMarieSt

This has been so wonderful to read! You rock! I'm working on getting to running a straight 5K presently. Thanks for the inspiration.

:happy: