I RACED! Twice! Last weekend, I did the Steve Haydu Lo Tide 10K and the Azalea Sprint. On Saturday, I met Kitty at Carolina Beach for my first real 10k in three years (Disney in 2020 and 2022 didn’t count to me). Meaning: I ran to race.
The sun was out but, it was chilly and breezy. I picked up my bib that morning and then Kitty and I sat in her car for about 20 minutes to drink coffee and chat. We warmed up for 15 minutes with pick-ups and dynamics, ditched our warm-up clothes and then went out to run a little more. We lined up to start and just as in years past, the host blessed us with the Irish blessing and a Christian prayer - complete with a salvation call! = and pronounced THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT! I rubbed the road ID on my watch and heard: On your mark. Get set. Go!
Almost immediately, my right shins hurts. Hadn’t felt it in the warm-up Hadn’t felt it in years. But, suddenly, the dull ache was there. At mile 1.5, right after the first water station, I stopped to swallow the water in my cup and mainly to point and flex my ankle to get rid of the shin pain. It was only then that I remembered that one of my goals this year was to run a 10k without stopping! So off I went.
Obviously, it wasn’t a major goal. I didn’t even write it down on my calendar goal sheet. But, I know I had said it out loud at some point to friends. I know it might seem like a minor thing, but honestly, Ironman has made me lazy. And my strategy to recover from my ACL surgery played into that as well. I am a runwalker. What started with a 10’ run to 1’ walk ratio for my long runs and races for my first race in 2013, turned into a 4’ run + 1’ walk strategy last year for every training run and race.
For me to run a whole mile in the past few months is a major milestone. Mentally and physically. So, to be able to run six is HUGE! Even when I got stuck in the middle of all the 5k walkers, I kept on running. It was a giant victory for me. My total time was 1:04 (about a 10:30/mile pace).
More to come on the tri next time.
