Aug 30, 2015 Lifestyle

My First 10K

I ran my first 10K race today at the 2015 Panerathon in Youngstown, OH. The following describes how it went.

Pro-tip: Don’t eat a full pizza AND Chipotle the night before running a race.

  • Mile 0: Blast off to the bass drop of Calvin Harris’s Sweet Nothing Remix
  • Mile 0 - 1: Pew, pew, pew, I keep passing people. Such slowpokes. This is fun. Clock fastest mile time at 7:34.
  • Mile 1 - 2: Oh noes, we got some hills. Listen to Matt and just put one step in front of another instead of trying to race up.
  • Mile 2: My average mile time is down to 8:32. The winner of the race passes me going the other way. He is on Mile 4. He is fast.
  • Mile 2 - 3: There’s a stitch in my side. I should stop. I slow down. The next song my phone plays is I Can’t Stop by Flux Pavilion. I don’t stop.
  • Mile 3.1: Halfway point. If this was a 5K race, it would be my slowest one so far. All those slowpokes are passing me now.
  • Mile 3 - 4: I force myself to smile, which releases endorphins and keeps me going.
  • Mile 4: DJ Snake boosts me into a mini sprint for three seconds. My body’s not having it. Throw up in my mouth a little. Hold the gates! Oh no, here comes the second wave. Stop and expel breakfast by the side of the road. This is a hard reset. Feeling good.
  • Mile 4 - 5: I’ve found a good pace. Follow the magic of yoga pants and a tutu for a bit. Aw, she had to stop. Maybe I’ll just follow this guy for a while. Nope, there he goes. Maybe I can keep up with this old fella. Nope, there he goes. Who’s the slowpoke now?
  • Mile 5 - 5.5: The Return of the Stitch. Take Matt’s advice and run the rest of the race with my thumb jammed into my abdomen. I’m not stopping now.
  • Mile 5.5 - 6: I’ve been spending too much time indoors lately, so I get my tan on with the mid-morning sun.
  • Mile 6: Turn the last corner. Time to sprint home. I only go about 100 meters before the dry-heaving starts again. Ha! There’s nothing left in there now stomach! I feel like I’m going to pass out. Stop 0.1 miles from the finish. Friendly racer gives me a boost. Look up and see that yoga pants and tutu has passed me. No!
  • Mile 6.2: Full sprint and finish ahead of her. It’s over. Final time 54:16. I was shooting for 48:00 but that’s good enough for now.

Next stop: Nationwide Half Marathon in October.

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