The Sunday before Thanksgiving I ran my first 10k race. I was thinking that I would finish in about 1:15.
It was a small race. The beginning started out with just a small grade, and then a STEEP hill. This is when I heard voices in my head telling me to bag out of the race and walk back. Those voices would not go away, I felt my thighs begin to tighten and the thought of walking seemed to excite me. I noticed a girl in front of me, about the same size as me and she was plugging along and I was right behind her. We were at the back of the pack, I began to just concentrate on staying right behind her. I started thinking about how the 18 wheelers do that on the highway. She was breaking the wind for me. Next thing I know the three mile marker showed up and I was almost half way to the end. I lost my leader at the water stop. I decided to actually stop and drink the water instead of spilling it all over myself.
I did catch up to my unknowing partner and reluctantly passed her. This was it, I could actually finish this thing. The end was a brutal uphill, but I finished. 1:03:36
I had never run that far before. . .
There was a friend that also ran the race, we never actually hung out before. After the race was over we had a beer to celebrate. I am not kidding.
-peace out
Thirteen Miles or Bust 