Somewhere along the way in this weight loss journey of mine I began running. In the beginning it was more of a walk/jog really with a 20 minute mile and eventually, after much interval training, I began running a 15 minute mile. Soon enough it was suggested that I run my first race, the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k, on June 28, 2009. I ran 3.1 miles in 32 minutes and 02 seconds with a 10:47 average pace per mile.
My next race was the Catonsville Fall into Fitness 10K on September 26, 2009. I ran 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 58 seconds with a 9:50 average pace per mile.
My next milestone, was the Baltimore 10 Miler on June 19, 2010. The most I'd ever run was 8 miles, once, last summer. My typical mileage back then was 6 miles. After the winter set in, I started focusing more on spin and zumba classes to keep me entertained indoors and my average became 4 miles, on a treadmill. I started training for this race in March 2010, with the help of the Nike+ "Coach". My goal, was to complete the training for a half marathon, figuring if I can run 13 miles, the Baltimore 10 Miler would be a piece of cake.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of bumps along the way that threw a wrench in my training. A back injury, a family emergency that involved a trip to California and in the last 3 weeks before the big race, a concussion from a silly pool accident. Needless to say, at this point I was more than 3 weeks behind in my training and the most I'd ever ran was 8 miles, twice! To say that I was concerned about whether or not I could even complete the race at this point was a huge understatement. Even though I joked about it, there was a small part of me that actually feared I may pass out halfway through.
Well, yesterday was the big day and not only did I complete the race, but I totally aced it!!! I completed 10 miles in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 22 seconds with a 9:47 average pace per mile. I ran the whole damn thing, didn't even need to slow down and the hills weren't nearly as bad as I anticipated. It felt amazing and can't wait to run a half-marathon next!
Thank you very much for the support from my friends and family. Couldn't have made it through without you!
wow!! That really is an accomplishment, I don'r really think I can do more than 3.5 right now, but I have not been running as much... i think the side stitch i keep getting slows me down a lot and I don't know how to prevent that from happening.... I'm actually off for a run now..... Congrats on the 10 miles... that is really REALLY AWESOME!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Isabel!!! Hang in there with those side stiches, they eventually go away. If you can, take a moment to stop and strech, putting your arm (the side with the stich) over your head while pressing into the rib with the opposite hand. Hopefully on my next trip to NY, we can go for a run together!
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