Allow me to Reintroduce Myself...

I'm currently in the midst of my half-marathon training, about to start week 8. This weekend, training took on the form of a 10K, specifically, the Run Austin Run 10K (there was also a half-marathon and a 5K). I'd run the 10K distance before, but not in a race, and it was only my 3rd race ever, so I was interested in the outcome. The race was slated to start at 7AM on Sunday morning, so I got up at about 5:15, got dressed, ate a banana, got my stuff together, and drove to the race site. Now, here in Central Texas, we are actually having a fall this year (which we rarely ever have--it usually just sort of stops being hot sometime in November), so it was quite chilly. Chilly enough for me to endlessly debate with myself the previous day about whether or not to wear a long sleeve shirt. After talking to my dad (the uber-runner--and running purist), I decided just to wear a short sleeve shirt, since I would definitely warm up once I got going. Once I parked my car, I sat inside for about 30 minutes because I didn't see any point in standing around being cold for an hour (it was about 55--not cold, but chilly enough for our neck of the woods). About 25 to 7, I got out, put on my race number, reluctantly took off my jacket, and walked over to the starting area.

The start of the race was to be staggered--the half-marathon would start at 7, the 10K would start at 7:10, and the 5K would start at 7:15. However, the police officers working the route ran into a few delays in securing the route, so the half didn't actually start until about 7:15. So, I actually stood outside for about 45 minutes before the 10K actually got going. I put myself towards the back since I know I'm fairly slow. For about the first half mile, my feet were kind of hurting since we had been standing so long prior to starting, but that went away after a little while. Though I started at the back, I managed to begin picking off people that started too fast, so that was kinda fun. At one point, I think I passed a girl I knew in college who was doing the half marathon. However, I really hadn't seen her in about 4 or 5 years, and only knew she had taken up running due to that great bastion of social networking known as Facebook, so I didn't really want to say anything in case she thought I was a weird stalker or something. And I didn't want to slow down and talk (I might send her a message today and mentioned that I saw her and congratulate her).

So, the first 3 miles went by pretty well. I felt good and had warmed up, so I was glad I hadn't worn long sleeves. However, at about mile 4, we got into a hillier, residential section of town. I kind of expected the hills, but didn't really think they'd be that bad. Ha. I do most of my training on relatively flat routes or on the treadmill, so I haven't really dealt with hills too much. But these definitely made me walk more than I wanted to. There was one steep downhill that my knee definitely wasn't happy about. And it didn't help that cars were zooming around us in the neighborhood. I guess they didn't appreciate having a race course on their streets. :-p But there were a few folks outside cheering, so that made up for it.

Once we exited the neighborhood and headed for the last stretch, I remembered someone saying near the race start that it was supposed to be downhill. NOT. It wasn't brutal hills like those in the neighborhood, but it was definitely a steady incline. I ended up running a good portion of the last couple of miles with a lady pushing a stroller. She mentioned she'd never run this far with a stroller, so props to her! I'm sure she would have finished way ahead of me without it. Right before she crossed the line, however, she took her kid out of the stroller and they crossed together--I assume it was adorable, but I was too busy gunning for the line to see it. :-p Overall, my pace was slower than I wanted it to be, but I'll attribute some of that to the hills, and some of it to my slacking-off-in-training (which I'll talk about later). After they cut my chip off, I went in search of water, but couldn't find any (wtf?!?). So I grabbed a random protein drink and headed to my car, since I had brought water with me. It's probably lucky that I left when I did, since it started to pour shortly after I arrived back at my apartment. Very unfortunate for the half-marathoners. I took a quick shower, dressed, and headed out to a brunch with some friends who gave me all sorts of kudos for the race. :-D Then I went home, made chili, and vegged out on the couch for the rest of the day.

I had all sorts of outcomes from this race, other than the soreness in my glutes and hamstrings from those hills. A major thing I learned is that I need to be more focused on my training. A confession: I've been slacking off a bit during the past few weeks--and it definitely showed during the race. It would have been great to been able to tackle the distance with fewer walk breaks, and consistent training definitely would have helped with that. Training has been starting to feel like a bit of a chore, but now that I have a gauge of my current fitness level, I feel excited about where the remainder of my training will take me. I now understand the importance of completing the four weekly runs in my plan (especially the long run!), and also need to work on strength and resistance in both my lower and upper body (those hills!).

I also found out that I enjoy racing. Not necessarily being competitive, but running with other people who have the same goal as me. It inspires a sort of, "We're all in this together" feeling in me, which is fun. Normally I just trudge along on my own, but it was great to be out there with other runners, and not just fitness buffs at the gym. I'm looking forward even more to RNRSA, especially to the camaraderie I'll get to experience with thousands of other runners and spectators. Running really is a community.