The Searle's Stories

Another running post... surprise, surprise! I ran my first 10K (6.2 mile) race in February as a way to help keep me motivated and running for my half marathon. I have since decided that I really love racing that distance. The day before the run it snowed at least a foot and a half and the forecast showed winds of at least 15 mph. I didn't want to do it and called my sister to ask if I should. She gave me the best advice and told me exactly what I wanted to hear. I told her all my reasons of why I didn't want to- I could fall on the ice, it was cold and windy, what if I came in last. She told me "If you don't have a good enough excuse NOT to, why not?!" So I did it. 

I ran it and didn't finish last. I finished in 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 27 seconds. Yes, the seconds count. After I signed up for my second half marathon I immediately knew that I wanted to do another 10K during training to help get me used to running faster for a long period of time.

I did my second 10K a week and a half ago. And it went better than I could have imagined. Of course I wanted to be faster than my previous one and my only goal was to do it faster. After I hit the mile mark I realized I was going a lot faster than I had anticipated and that running 6.2 miles under an hour was possible! I felt good and was happy running, even if there was a little bit of wind. The forecast said it was supposed to rain and be nasty cold with clouds but it wasn't.

Running is very much an individual sport. But at times it gets competitive. I had a few girls ahead of me from the start and I told myself I just have to keep them in view and I can hit my goal. There was a guy that passed me pretty quickly but wasn't ahead of me for very long because I passed him and told myself that I was not allowed under any circumstances to let him pass. And I didn't. The girls that were in front of me looked like serious runners and had fancy watches to tell them their pace and time (I may just be envious that I'm still using my phone) but I passed them with a mile left to go and was smiling from ear to ear! 

Training pays off and its so nice to actually see it in races! Towards the end of my longer runs on Saturdays I have been trying to run a good sized hill to get my legs used to keeping pace when they are tired. It definitely helped, half a mile from the finish was a smaller hill and I was able to pass another lady, serious runner looking to. Small victories are amazing while running.

But the best victory was at the end when I saw Cody and the girls sitting safely (and warm) in the car right before the finish line smiling and waving at me. I crossed the finish line and couldn't believe I had finished not only under one hour but at 55:47!!!! Lets just say that will be a tough record to beat! 

I usually run comfortably at around 10 minute 15 second paced miles. My average pace for this race was under 9 minute miles... for six miles straight! It was crazy.

Anyways.... I ran a race, a dam race and finished it to set a new personal record. WahoO!