First in 30's...

Woohoo! It’s amazing how good it feels to accomplish something that at one point seemed out of reach. Last week was a great week of training, and all the hard work is starting to pay off.

After 7 weeks of training, I opted to run a 10k yesterday. It wasn’t the easiest run I’ve had recently, and I struggled getting into my rhythm, but I was very happy with my results. My goal was 9 minute miles, which would have put me at 55:59. I finished considerably ahead of that, and took first in my age group (out of 19 females, 30-39), 2nd place for all females (out of 49), and 18th overall (83 males and females). My time is a little questionable. I ran with my forerunner, which has been dead on on distance, and showed the run to actually be 6.32 miles (as opposed to the 6.22 a 10k actually is). It doesn’t totally surprise me on account of the race course and budget (they had us running through drainage ditches and dirt fields). It wasn’t a chipped race either, so I started my forerunner when I crossed the starting line, and not at the gun (they shoot a gun, and start the timer, regardless of how far back in the crowd you are). Regardless, my results were far better than my goal:

My time according to my forerunner:
6.22 miles (10k): 52:54 (8:30 miles)
6.32 miles (actual race distance): 53:36 (8:29 miles)

My time according to race:
10k: 53:40 (8:39 miles)

As I said, the run wasn’t easy. I hit a rhythm for a little over a mile around mile four. It was an out and back run, so we had to encounter all the obstacles twice. Once I hit the dirt field the second time, around mile 5.25, I lost that rhythm and really began to struggle. That last mile was a real battle in my head. There were some very loud voices telling me to stop and lay down, maybe even one or two mentioning death as an option. Those are the moments you really have to fight back and remember how much you want to get to the finish line, and how hard you’ve worked to get there. So much of running is mental. It’s amazing what your body can really handle if you can convince the voices in your head to shut up and keep going.

In addition to the run, I exceeded all my goals for last week. I completed another six mile run last Tuesday in my best training time yet, 52:58 (8:50 miles). Each time I complete a long run with ease, it boosts my confidence and allows me to mentally take on an even greater distance.

Week 7 Summary: Goal 17 miles, 5.5 mile long run. I exceeded both my distance and long run goal this week. I ran for a total of 18.25 miles overall. My long run was 6 miles this week. Including my race yesterday, I’ve now completed more than 118 miles since I began training.

Sunday, October 28th 10k Summary: Goal 55:59, 9 minute miles. In using my Forerunner results since that’s what I’m using for measuring the rest of my training, I completed 6.22 miles in 52:54 (8:30 miles). That’s a speed of just over 7 miles per hour.

Week 8 Goal: My goal this week is 18.5 miles, with my long run being my race yesterday. I’m going to be adding a fifth day of running in the next few weeks as I increase my overall distance.