The first 10k that my husband and I did together we hardly did any training to prepare for, and the second one we only trained for about 3 weeks ahead of time to try to be in shape enough to survive. This time around though, I have been active all summer, and I've spent the last couple of weeks testing my endurance and working up to the 6 1/2 mile distance that the Great Columbia Crossing will cover October 3rd.
While last week I walked/jogged 4 miles, this morning I upped it to 5 and hit the track with as much fervor and enthusiasm as I could muster for 8a.m. on a Saturday morning. I forgot headphones this morning, so instead I gave myself a series of pep-talks and kept verbally pushing myself to keep a steady pace and not worry about checking the time on my cell phone until I was done. I have a really bad habit of wanting to time every single lap when I train, and while that might be helpful if I was doing a sprint, it is really just unnecessary micro-management over such a long haul.
This morning I was able to complete right around 5.5 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. I'm really excited that even though I lengthened the walk a mile and a half further than what I did last week I was able to maintain an 18 minute per mile average.
All this work has really paid off and I can't wait to get to the starting line on the 3rd and push myself to finish ahead of the big yellow bus of doom. I have truly proven to myself this summer that hitting personal goals, while never easy, can be done if you just put one foot in front of the other.
In other news: My reward for finishing this 10k is a new pair of running shoes. Hooray!
I remember the first time my hub and I ran a 2-mile fun run in San Diego, our home at the time. We were exhausted and SO proud of ourselves (and then couldn't move for the next three days). But we got the bug, and soon were running 4 to 5 miles 5 days a week, and running a couple of 10K races a month. That was many years and many pairs of running shoes ago (unfortunately, my feet and knees don't let me run for exercise any more). In all those years running, though, I never, NEVER broke the habit of checking my pace on every single bloody mile of training & racing. So enjoy your "running quirks," and enjoy that feeling of putting one foot in front of the other. Good for you!
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