One down; one long one to go

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I ran my first-ever non-American race today – a gentle 10K through my new home of Stirling. I’ve been neglecting my training so I was actually quite pleased with my time. (Sorry, you have to read more before you get that bit of information!)

The course was relatively flat and took us through this place and over there by that place and along a river and over a bridge or two. (OK, you got me! I don’t actually know all of the areas we ran through. But it did offer lovely views of the castle and the Wallace Monument.) The weather was fairly nice and cool – and came with a light rain near the halfway mark, which was actually quite nice.

And get this! The course was marked in kilometres – not miles! I know that’s a strange comment since the race was a 10K, but in the states, a 10K (or 5K) is still marked in miles. Because of this surprise, I found myself having to do maths along the course so that I could gauge if my pace was OK. But that also meant that I didn’t get my 6-mile mark, which is what tells me that I have .2 miles to go, which is what tells me to kick it up to top speed. But I got a 9K mark instead and I didn’t know what that meant in miles. Then there was a sign that said “200 metres to go” and I had no clue what that meant at first – but it dawned on me that 200 metres is my .2 miles(ish) so kicked it up for my strong(ish) finish.

I had hoped to finish in under an hour, and am happy to say I did that with a finish time of 59:28 – just! I am very happy with that time because, well, it’s a respectable time and I am training for a marathon so am working on distance not speed (and in fact, I even intentionally slowed my pace a couple of times as to not risk injury). Of course, at the same time, I’m upset with that time because I so wanted to be even faster! But I have to realise that I am no longer 18 years old and I have two pre-existing medical conditions. Still, my stubbornness wanted to believe I was that perfectly healthy and fit high schooler! But I digress.

And even though this blog is all about me, I do have to mention that my friend, Rebecca, ran it with me. But if you want to know what her take on the day’s event was, you’ll have to read about it here. And don’t listen to her about my “shooting off in front” at the 5K mark, but she’s right that I did a lousy job with that photo. (Sorry!)

So my next non-American race is the Loch Ness Marathon in two weeks; which means that today’s run was 20.2 miles shy of the furthest distance I ever, ever, ever plan to run/walk/crawl. I’m a little frightened about the marathon, but I’m a bit excited, too. You might get the privilege of reading a post or two before the marathon about my progress, my fears, and my excitement. So stay tuned…

And, as always, you can see more photos from my races here.

8 Replies to “One down; one long one to go”

  1. Not to be pedantic, but it was only one bridge. Although admittedly we did run over it twice.
    And you did shoot off at the 5k mark and while I kept you in my sights until 8k, after that you were just gone like a whippet from the trap. I’ll not hold it against you. The photograph, however, is another matter entirely!

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    1. I maintain that there was another bridge somewhere along the route that was just really low and therefor didn’t look like a bridge. Not because I always have to be right or anything … 🙂

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      1. Is everyone else still in? I actually might have a way to get there now stand-by but there’s no way I can do it this late in the game! I know you can do it, but if luck should have it that you don’t finish, then you tried your best and there is always next year.

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        1. It’s just me and my friend, Rebecca, doing it–and hundreds of people I don’t know, too. I know I won’t be able to run the whole thing but am pretty confident that my stubbornness will get me through one way or another. A bit of running, a bit of walking, and maybe even a bit of crawling toward the end!
          There will be a couple people cheering us on at the finish line, too, which will help for sure! And I hope they’re strong, because we may need to be carried away by that point!

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  3. I think that the fact that you still have the energy to run any distance 5k, 10k, or otherwise is accomplishment enough! You will do just fine, you always underestimate yourself you know! Congrats on the 10k in under a minute 🙂

    Reply

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