We're getting close to the end of June, which means I need to participate in a race of some sort to keep up with my one event per month goal as part of my 34 Things. My co-worker had told me about this trail run that she was planning on doing. Emphasis on run. I combed the website but there was no time limit that I could see. Okay, then. My first official purely walking race in several years.
I lined up with all the other 10Kers and felt like a fraud. I was not going to run any bit of this race. But since it was on a trail, rather than a road, it wouldn't matter when I finished. Right? And then I saw the sign that said this was going to be a 5K, 10K or 30K race. Woohoo!! I may not be the last person on the course. I will get lapped but I should be able to finish a 10K before even super fast runners finish a 30K. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. (Turns out there was no one doing the 30K but it definitely gave me a psychological boost.)
The race started off with a steep uphill. Oh great. But I actually passed a few people on my way up the hill! That didn't last too long and before you knew it I was last. I have this big fear of being the last person on the course. Looks like I was going to face my fear today.
The trail was fairly muddy so there was a lot of zig-zagging to avoid the mud and the mud puddles. I kept my eyes down so I could navigate between the tree roots and the mud. So that's pretty much how the race went - up, down, avoid the mud puddle, watch out for horse poop, mud puddle, horse. Wait, horse? Yup, horse! Nice horsey. I kept to the side of the trail as I passed the horse. There was one close call with a tree. I was grabbing a hold of a tree to help me around a mud puddle when I smacked into the tree! My shirt had gotten caught. But I stayed on my feet. Yay!
I was alone for most of the race, except when the 10K route intersected with the 5K route. From about mile 3 on I was basically on a walk in the woods by myself. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was very peaceful, when I took my eyes of the trail! :) I finally hit mile 6 and the rest of the course was mainly downhill. As I rounded the corner towards the finish, I saw the remaining volunteers packing up. Yup, last one on the course. But when they saw me, they cheered. I love cheers! Even if they are pity cheers for the last person.
My goal was to come in under 1:40 and I'm super happy to say I came in at 1:39:26! Which is just over a 16 minute per mile pace. Hallelujah!! (Disney race pace is 16 minutes per mile.) I still have 6 months (give or take) to improve on my time. Ideally I would like to get under 15 minutes per mile. And there is always hope my physical therapist will okay me to run!
And I learned something else from the posted times - there were 2 people behind me. I wasn't last!
3 comments:
Congrats, that's a big accomplishment! I have a bit of a fear of coming in last in a race, but the more I think about it, the less I worry. I mean, I wouldn't really be last -- all of the people who didn't even try would be FAR behind me!
Good for you for getting out and doing it!
Hey there, Congrats on your race and I love it that you are doing so many races and such! walking is no small thing. It is hard and very mentally challenging so KUDOS to you. Also, I am training for my first tri as well so if you come across any good tips I'd love to hear about them!! Have fun =)
-Jen
This sounds like my first 10K! I only beat 2 people but was sure I was dead last the entire time. I'm so glad you didn't fall. I was going to give you a hard time if you did an Italian cliff repeat and hurt yourself.
Nice job on getting in your June race. And hey - Disney's course is a lot easier, so even if you solely walked it you'd beat 16mm no problem. Unless, of course, they put out horses, hills and mud! ;)
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