Last fall, I decided to sign up for the 10K at Race Weekend thinking it would motivate me to get out there and run. I have been running 5Ks for many years now, but I have had so many injuries that I did not perform in any of them. I stuck to cycling, because I enjoyed it more and I didn’t get injured cycling.
A friend challenged me to walk/run/bike/ski/skate/etc. for 2,013km in 2013. This challenge has resulted in me walking more, not just for leisure but to go places. In the fall, I was walking everywhere and had many days when I walked 8-10K between October and December. I kept up the walking all winter and feel all this walking has really made me stronger. I have less lower back pain and my hips/pelvis feel more stable.
It has been a rough winter, not just weather-wise, but also from a personal point of view. My life has changed completely in the past 6 months and I have to say that running hasn’t been top of mind. I kept active by walking lots, but I didn’t train like I was hoping I would. My “training” for this race was 7 runs ranging 3-6.5K over a period of two months, about 200km of walking since January and about 270km of riding my bike since April. Needless to say, I was feeling less than confident that I could complete this race without injuring myself.
The days leading up to the race were very challenging emotionally. I had a major anxiety trigger and it nearly ruined things for me. However, I have been through a lot of sh!t in the past few years and it has made me so much stronger – I was determined to at least try. Worst case scenario: I would walk the whole thing. So I spent the day of the race dealing with my out-of-control anxiety – thank God for good friends, I could never have made it through without them – and I did not eat much because the anxiety makes me severely nauseous. I ended up only eating one peanut butter toast, some almond milk and an energy bar during my whole day. I know, recipe for disaster.
I got to the race site and saw my friend Suzy (not a Maniac). It was great to see her before the race as it helped calm me down. She was shooting for 65-70 minutes, so she was seeded ahead of me in the starting corrals. It was a long wait before they let us start and I could not wait to get going. The sun was blazing and I was getting hot!
They eventually let us through the start line. Everyone around me was running, so I decided to run a little bit to see how it felt. It felt great! Cardio was good, legs were fine, mental was strong. There were a lot of people cheering along Elgin and it really helped me. I kept going and was amazed at how much I was able to run: I have been doing run/walk intervals by feeling, not looking at my watch. I know I haven’t done more than 5 minutes in a row of running in training. I have no idea what happened but my cardio was so good that I could run for way longer than that. I even ran the whole “climb” to the overpass at the turn-around point. I was passing people like crazy!
My legs were feeling great until about 7K. The Mental was silent (which is unheard of, if you have been following my racing history). I was not feeling weak, nauseous or light-headed from not having eaten enough. I was smiling and interacting with the crowds and the volunteers. It was fun! As I approached the 8K mark, my legs and hips started to seize up, so I decided to walk for a bit. However, my hip was clicking with every step and I soon realized that walking was hurting a lot more than running so I started running again. It was at that particular moment that I felt like I was a “real” runner again. I ran to the finish line without stopping! The crowds were lining the course during the last kilometer and I loved every minute of it. I crossed the finish line in 1:20:46, which is a similar time to what I got on my first 10K race 7 years ago, after a winter of intense training. Needless to say I was over the moon!
I am very proud of what I was able to accomplish on Saturday. Life has sent me a lot of opportunities to build some mental toughness in the past two years and I feel that Saturday was a celebration of how tough I have become. I am starting to see how much I can accomplish when I shut The Mental up. 2014 is a transitional year for me. On New Year’s Eve, I remember thinking that I would get out of my comfort zone in 2014 and build the life that I want to live. The mental barriers that were holding me back are getting smashed one by one and I am very proud of myself.
Yay! I’m a runner again. (A runner on a semi-break for the warm season, though, as I tackle many new cycling, climbing and water-sports adventures, but a runner nonetheless)
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