Jenem03's Running Journal...or some other more creative title.

Ok I'm back and ready to give a real update! It's sort of hard to remember the last few weeks (probably why people update more often...duh) but I'll give it my best shot.

First off, my first 10k race. This was the initial reason for my break from posting. It took me some time to reconcile my feelings after this race. Initially I was pretty disappointed. But, let's start from the beginning. This race was in a little town about 40 minutes away from me where there is a Libby pumpkin factory so they have a pumpkin festival every year which basically consists of loads of pumpkin flavored foods and some carnival rides. It always seems to be so hot for this festival and this year was no different. I think the high for the day was somewhere around 90 and it was HUMID!!

I got up about 2.5 hours before the race and tried to eat a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter with a glass of water and half a cup of coffee. I wasn't sure whether coffee was a good idea or not but since I drink quite a bit every morning I thought it best to at least have a little so I wasn't having caffeine withdrawal during the race. I started getting pretty nervous and had some stomach issues. Thankfully this sorted itself out before we had to leave. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my husband was running too.

We got over to the race plenty early and I beelined it to the porta potties. No real lines yet! I then attempted to do my warm up but had so much jittery energy I felt like I was going way too fast so I took a couple short jogs then walked around a bit. I found where I needed to be starting and settled in only to feel like I needed to visit the restrooms one more time. There was a long line this time! But I made it back with plenty of time to spare.

The race started at 7:30 and although early, it was already getting hot. I started out and felt good my first mile. I was doing quite a bit of weaving around people and trying to find some space to get into a good groove. Mile 1 took 11:25.

During this next few miles we started to head out of town and into the country. There was absolutely no protection from the sun. I started to get in my own head here. It seemed like 6.2 miles was so far and I started thinking there was no way I could finish. I don't know why I started thinking this so early. I do remember there were a couple gradual hills that seemed to really take it out of me. Just before mile 3 I was starting to feel tired. I told myself if I could just make it to mile 3 I would take a little walk break. Mile 2 was 11:57 and mile 3 12:00.

I walked a little bit after hitting the mile 3 marker and was getting kind of down. I kept thinking about how I could easily run 4 miles during training. I hadn't thought I would be feeling so tired that early so that was concerning. But after walking a bit I felt a burst of energy and kept on going. Unfortunately that didn't last long. My plan then was to walk/run until the mile 5 marker then give it everything I had for the last 1.2. Mile 4 was 12:39 and 5 was 12:46.

After mile 4 I was really struggling. I was doing more walking then I would've liked and every time I tried to run it was a struggle. By the time I hit the mile 5 marker my give it all I had plan was out the window. I had nothing left. It was everything I could do to keep moving. This mile was 13:03. Once I passed the mile 6 marker I could see the finish line so I started to sprint. But I severely underestimated how much gas I had left and a few yards away from the finish thought I was going to throw up/pass out. I refused to walk though. I finished the race in 1:17:39. Definitely not the proof of time I was hoping for and I felt pretty defeated but how exhausted I felt.

My husband quickly reminded me that not only was this my first 10k race but it was my first time ever running that distance ever. It took a bit for that truth to take root but he was right. Not only that but in the matter of just a couple of months I went from mostly sitting on the couch and not running consistently at all to being able to run a 10k and not only that but consistently running at least 3 but mostly 4 days a week. It may have been a little naive to think that at my beginning fitness level I could go from couch to 10k in that amount of time and also try to increase my speed as well. So now looking back at it, I'm able to be more positive about the experience. It gave me a better understanding of where I am and what I need to do to be more successful for the next one. I'm extremely grateful to @DopeyBadger for my training plan. I can't even imagine where I would've been without it and am excited to continue on.

More tomorrow on my training runs the last two weeks but I will say I'm already feeling more confident about my next race.
 
Getting in your head is so tough! I'm sorry that you had some tough moments in there, but 1:17:39 is a GREAT first 10k time! Definitely something to be proud of, especially since it was your first time even hitting that distance! Running is so much a mental sport!

Keep up the great work! I can't wait to see where you go from here!
 
Just found your journal and joining in! Congrats on your first 10K race. It sounds pretty normal to face some difficulties in that as you are just starting to figure out this long-distance running thing. You are in good hands with a DopeyBadger training plan though. Just keep sticking with it and try not to get discouraged when things don't go according to plan. It happens to all of us!
 
I've been in an unmotivated slump this week and ended up only running twice. I ran Thursday and it was an absolute fight to get out there. I also got over excited about the cloudy, cooler weather and wore a long sleeved shirt. I pretty quickly realized it was pretty humid and the clouds started clearing so it was not an enjoyable time at all. Haha!

Yesterday I ran 6 miles but it was an absolute slog! Is that a word... I don't know but that's what my run felt like. The bright side is that even though I desperately wanted to quick I kept my legs moving. It was a bit slower than my LR pace but I did it and that's a win in my book!

This week is looking a little tricky to get my runs in. My hubby left for a conference yesterday and will be gone till Wednesday then I leave for a women's retreat on Thursday. Oh life...gets in the way sometimes.
 


Good job getting the run done even when you don't want to. We've all been there. The tough ones that you push through do more for you than the easy ones.
 

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