I am popping in today to give a recap of my first ever 10k! I wish I had done this sooner, but alas, it is winding down to the last couple of WEEKS of my graduate program and there is much to be done! Anyways, here it is!
Jason and I drove up to Richmond on Friday afternoon so that we could get to the Runner's Expo held at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center next to the Diamond. So exciting to be back in my favorite city! I picked up my packet and my bib, grabbed some freebies, and then we headed to dinner at Joe's Inn, our favorite Richmond restaurant, and the site of our first date, 4 years earlier.
We then headed east to my parent's house. I was so happy to see my mom and sister and dog after 3 months! It had been too long.
We woke up early Saturday morning to head to Richmond, and beat the traffic. The Monument Ave 10k is no joke y'all! 40,00 people! In college, it was a known fact that you should stay inside and avoid the crowds. My old residence hall is actually situated right at the finish line, so I remember not being able to sleep in due to the music and large crowds- I would be so annoyed! (Look at me now!)
view from my freshman year room- this is exactly where the finish line for the 10k is!
Luckily, finding parking was much easier than I thought it would be. We parked in a campus deck and only had to walk a few blocks to the start line. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was just anxious about getting to the start line on time and making sure my mom, sister, dog and Jason found a good place to stand. We parted ways about halfway as they found a place to stand and I headed to the start line.
The week before, I started to feel a pain down the back of my leg. I stretched as much as possible, iced etc, but I was still worried that the pain was something more serious and i would not be able to achieve my goal of running the whole thing. That was why I was so on edge before the race. As I approached the start, I tried not to worry about it and get pumped by the energy from the crowd. There were SO MANY people! Cheers, music chatter - it was so exciting. I looked around at the other runners, and I wasn't intimidated- we were running in waves, so the people around me weren't superior athletes as I had imagined they would be. Just some normal people, workin on their fitness.
Soon enough, it was our waves' turn to run and before I knew it, we started. I focused a lot on pacing myself at first, trying not to expel too much energy from the start. I think I may have focused on this a bit too much- I could have gone faster, but oh well. I was doing it- running my first 10k! The course is great- flat, full of cheering supporters sitting on their front porches or in the grassy median, lots of live music and fun costumes! I was entertained and seriously happy to be running!
The rest of the run was pretty great. Around mile 3, I started to feel the pain, so began walking a bit. It subsided and I did a light light jog until I got back into my rhythm. it did not bother me for the rest of the run which was a relief! I walked another time, around 4.5 or 5, when I was trying to turn on Find My Friends to figure out where my people were standing.
Turns out, I missed them, because I was too busy jammin' out. I wanted so badly to see them but I am happy that they saw me, and even more happy that they braved the crowds to watch me run. It meant the whole world to me and really motivated me to stick to my training and my commitment to run this thing.
my sister took this- I can't believe I didn't see them!
Before I knew it, I was at the finish line. It kinda snuck up on me, but I sprinted to the finish!
not the prettiest finish, but I did it!
After I finished, I worked to find my family and Jason. I was so happy to find them and hear that they saw me! They said I was in the zone :)
Finishing is SO addicting. I know I have said this before, but every time I think about it, and really put myself back there I can't help but tear up and think how I can't wait to do it again. I am really proud of myself- not only for actually doing the race, but sticking to my training plan even with a lot of obstacles in my way. I am a huge procrastinator so planning ahead for something for 4 months is a huge accomplishment for me!
For those of you who are wondering my official time was 1:17:34 and my average pace was around 11:54.
Thank you to my family and Jason for coming to see me run! Now to decide my next race...!
Have a great day :)
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