14 Weeks Left & My First Training Race

Things went pretty much as scheduled last week except for Saturday, which is normally the day I do my long run, I had a 5K race. I signed up for a "Winter Training Circuit" through Strider's and it's supposed to get you ready for the Marathon in May. The races start at a 5K, then a 10K, 10 Miler, Half Marathon & a 30K. They say once you get through these races you can run the Marathon with no problem.

Friday I went to Strider's to pick up my racing packet. I gave her my name, she handed me a bag with a running shirt, beanie, my racing bib & chip. As I was about to walk away she said "It could rain in the morning so dress warm, oh, and it's up hill a lot."

Hills. I live where flat farms used to be and there are no hills around me. I have not been practicing with hills. This didn't scare me though. When I have ran a hill or two I didn't have a problem really. It's only a 5K. Only 3 miles. Cake.

Saturday came along and I had been up since 3:00am with my 2 year old daughter. I finally got dressed (warmly & waterproof), drank some V8 to get something in me and got in the car to drive 30 minutes to the Dee Events Center in Ogden. It was foggy, drizzling rain & freezing cold. I'm glad I was prepared. I locked my car doors, got my ear phones ready and followed a crowd of people that seemed to know where they were going. I think I walked all the way around the huge building before I finally came to where the race should begin.

There are so many people. I don't know anyone and feel pretty awkward just standing there alone. I realized that this is the first race I've been in alone. I usually do these with my Mom, Sister, Friend... someone. I know of people that signed up for this circuit but there are so many people here there's a next-to-nothing chance I would find them even if I was looking really hard. Plus everyone is wearing hats & sunglasses (except the handful of crazies wearing shorts & tank tops) so it would be hard to recognize anyone anyway.

My fingers are feeling numb. The crowd starts to line up at the starting line. I edge to the very back so I don't get trampled on when it starts. Ready, Set, GO! The crowd moves forward in one huge mass. We come to the first couple of hills and everything is fine. I'm keeping the same pace and I'm thinking that... yeah, it's hard but I'm feeling pretty good about it. I start to pass people that are slowing down on the hills. We turn into a neighborhood and the hill is steeper than the previous ones. I'm still keeping my pace. We turn a corner and the hill is no longer a hill it's like a step ladder. After the first ten steps I felt like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. "OK, so maybe I'll have to walk it. Yeah, I can walk it & then start jogging again when I get to the top & it levels out."

The only problem with this thinking was that it never really leveled out. It was slightly less inclined but that's it. I jogged where I could & walked the rest. People started passing me. About halfway through they had drinks. I drank & tried to breathe as I walked slowly through the station. I finally saw mile marker 2 and was so grateful to think that we had to be going back downhill anytime now.

I don't know how it's possible but other than 2 downward slopes, we didn't go back down. I swear! I feel pretty confident saying it was pretty much uphill the whole way. Whatever.

I could finally see the finish line. There was only a slight hill going up to finish but it felt so steep. My legs were wobbly, my heart was still pounding and I thought about crying. I remember thinking that I had never been through something that physically hard before and that includes child birth people!! I had to walk around for a few minutes to bring my heart down to a somewhat normal type of beat. I had some orange slices & water. They posted the results right away. I finished in 36:43 minutes. That's an 11:48 minute mile. Considering I walked most of it that's not too terrible. I can honestly say that it kicked my butt though. I came straight home & took an epsom salt bath, iced the places I felt like needed it the most and then went out and had some fun with my daughter.

The next day was Sunday. Because of the race I didn't do my long run of 6 miles on Saturday. I came to the conclusion that I needed to add some hills into my training and the only place close to me is a freeway over pass. After the overpass it goes slightly uphill for a while so I thought this would be perfect. I mapped out 6 miles and started running.

When I got to the overpass my legs were already hurting & wobbly. I didn't realize how sore I was from yesterday until I started jogging. I walked up the overpass and ended up walking the rest of the 6 miles. I figure it doesn't do any good to make things hurt worse, I would just need more time to heal. I took today off.

I'm a little discouraged and for different reasons. First of all I walked a lot of the 3K. It makes me think... maybe I'm not cut out for this. 2nd... I didn't run the 6 miles and I was panicked about that at first and then I just figured... oh well... I would just go forward as scheduled and do the 7 miles this next Saturday. I should be feeling better by then. I'm also a little concerned about the remaining races. I found out from a friend that the 10K and the 10 Miler are just as bad. Crap! I guess the plan is that by the time we've ran these races the marathon will seem like a cake walk. That's what I'm hoping. I'm now pushing myself farther than I ever have before and farther than I think I really ever wanted to before. To be honest... I'm a little scared.