Well, I have officially done a 10K. I didn't do very well, but I did it. Nothing really went as I had hoped.
I was all excited for awesome weather, unfortunately Lee had other ideas. It didn't rain but I wish it would have. The temp was only 72 but with 99% humidity. Not really fun..
It all just started very badly. We ended up getting to the start late even though we thought we had left in time. That meant that the race actually started when I was still about 100 yards from the start line. I ended up sprinting to try to catch up and get in front of the ambulance that was following all of the runners. That was what made everything else suck so bad Because I didn't have time to warm-up, my legs protested the sudden sprint and my left calf immediately cramped up. The race had barely started and I already was unable to run. I couldn't stop to stretch it out because the ambulance was on my ass and I felt like I had to keep moving. It was very frustrating because I started the thing dead last and stayed there for a while. There was a woman that was closer to me but the rest of the pack was quickly leaving us. By the end of the first mile, my leg was killing me. I was hurting so badly and really just wanted to quit. I turned around and realized that I was being followed by every police car that had been blocking an intersection. They were all creeping along because of me. That's when I lost it. I started bawling. I tried to call my husband because I felt so ashamed and so alone. He didn't answer. I tried our house and I tried his cell and there was nothing. Finally, I called Rachel. She was my ride for the morning and I was really just going to tell her to come get me. I was crying pretty much uncontrollably when she answered. I finally told her what was going on and she tried to calm me down. She reminded me of all I had been doing and what I did at the Princess while she cheered me on. I was finally able to calm down after having a chance to talk to someone. I just felt so alone and needed a little support.
Not long after I got off the phone, I caught up with the lady in front of me. Her name was Patty and we understood each other. She is on a journey to lose weight also. She has already lost a good bit but still has a ways to go. She is training for the Rock-n-Roll Half in Savannah. We talked about the struggles of training when you are overweight. We talked about how hard it is for others to understand what it really feels like. We also talked about how bad it sucked being dead last. Having someone to talk to made things better and as I walked on, my leg finally started to loosen up.
After about 3.5 miles, my legs were feeling a lot better and we were on he last all downhill portion of the race. I decided to try to run as much of the end as I could. I pretty much ran the last 2.5 miles of the race. I finally felt good and really wondered how I would have done if the race had a better start. I did really well with the last few miles. Finally, I made the last turn and I could see the park where the finish line was. I fought back a few tears because I couldn't believe I was actually going to finish after the morning I had. There were two people waiting by the finish and, surprise, surprise, they were my friends. The place was deserted but I didn't care. I finished. I took a second to sit and catch my breath before I went back to meet Patty and finish with her. I felt bad for leaving her but she told me to run ahead once I felt better so i did. I was actually really surprised by my average pace. It was much better than I expected since I walked over half of the race. I ended up finishing with a pace just over a 16 minute mile which is slow as hell but is almost good enough for the Disney races.
As much as it all really sucked, it still gave me some hope for the future. I still have a lot of time to get better and several more races to help me watch my progress. This week I started the Galloway training program. It is the one they posted for the Princess but it was perfect timing for me to start it for the Tink since it was posted 21.5 weeks before the race and it is a 21 week program. I have heard great things about it so hopefully it will be a good one for me. I did a very short workout today since I am still very sore from the race. I felt ok but I still need a little recovery time. Up next on the list is the Army Shadow 10 miler in October. Hopefully, it will go better than the 10K.
No matter how the race went, I can
cross one more thing of my list.
Here are a few pictures from the race.
I was laughing because Patty was saying some not so nice things about the photographer. Notice the Ambulance on our butts.
Crossing the finish line after a long morning.
Crossing a second time with my race buddy.
