My Second 10k

Sunday, I ran my second official 10k.  I signed up for it not long after the Monument Ave 10k simply because I was losing my motivation to run, and I didn't want to just quit.  It seemed to help.  While I didn't necessarily have the motivation to work on speed, and I wasn't really trying to beat a certain time, I did have the motivation to at least get out there and run, and that was good.  Most of my runs were longer and more relaxed, and that was even better.

Since the Monument Ave 10k, I've actually run 2-3 non-official 10ks and a few 7-8ks, so I wasn't expecting this 10k to be too hard.  HA!  This course had a few more hills than what I usually run, so to say things were easy would be a long shot.  Still, though, it wasn't too bad.

My official time was 1:05:34.56, about a minute slower than the Monument Ave 10k.  Considering the course and the fact I didn't train as hard, I'm OK with this.  I also learned that my second 5k of the race (the second half) was about 2 minutes faster than my first 5k.  Part of this may be that I saved more time on the down hills, but I also feel that I pushed myself harder on the second 5k.  During the first half, I was trying to conserve energy so I didn't peter out, but during the second half I gave it all I had.  There was also one runner who, whether she knew it or not, helped me keep pace.  I think she was trying to beat me, and I was trying to beat her.  I pushed myself much harder because of her.  In the end, just when I thought I had her beat, she flew past me.  I was disappointed, but I was also really proud of her.  If I'd had any air with which to speak, I would have thanked her for pushing me harder.  After looking at the results from my Garmin, I saw that my pace during my last kilometer was a minute faster than during the rest of the race.  Of course, this also tells me I'm capable of much more than I think I am.

All in all, I had a great run.  The best part was seeing Cody and Hans waiting for me at the finish.  I could tell Cody was searching all the runners looking for me, and when he saw me that tail of his wagged and wagged and wagged.  Once I got to him I got lots of kisses.  I think he needs to be part of my cheering squad in every race!

There are a few other races I want to sign up for, but I think I'm going to hold off.  Marathon training starts on June 2nd (less than a month away!), and I don't want to over-commit to anything!