5k and 10k: Looking Back and Ahead



Taking a pic of my sis before 10k

When I decided to take on running in the winter of 2009, I very much knew it would be a struggle. Besides my lack of enthusiasm for the activity, I had just been diagnosed with asthma a few months earlier. Very soon I discovered that one of my knees wasn’t so enthusiastic either (which hasn’t changed, by the way). Nevertheless, I was determined to give running a serious go.

I decided on preparing for my very first 10k (Tjejmilen) in 2010 which was less than a year away at that time.

5k

3 months before the 10k, in June, I did a 5k funrun, Vårruset. My goal was to get a feel for the environment of a race, fun or not. When that day came I was too excited to eat. Between lunch at around 13:00hrs and the race at around 19:30hrs, I had a Detrox energy tablet that a friend had given me and a banana - right before the start. Then we set off. Around the two-kilometer mark, my energy reserves were depleted - the little there was anyway. From then onwards things went downhill for me.



Water backpack

 The funny thing is that I had a tangerine and an energy drink in my water backpack – that I could have consumed at any time but I was too tired to be bothered. I finished after 36 minutes and was far from happy with the result. I hoped I would do better with the 10k later in September but if I didn’t, I’d still make sure to cross the finish line “even if I had to crawl”. My exact words.

 Asthma of Effort
Disappointed that I hadn’t run the 5k under 30 minutes, I went back to my daily hustle and bustle, focusing on the following race. The workout sessions weren’t always a success because, not being used to it, I occasionally forgot to take the asthma medicine.

According to the good doctor, I have what is called asthma of effort (physical effort) which in my experience translates to no medication, no running. The alternative being breathlessness, coughing and wheezing all through the session. What a drag!

Still, the days went by so quickly. Soon it was time to execute the race.

My Little sis and I

Morning of the 10k race
I was so disorganized that morning I remember telling my sister, “it’s like we just found out we are running today”. She was also going to run the race for the first time but was only a tad better prepared than I was. When she and I get together, somehow we always manage to regress at least 15 years back resulting into some major fits of giggling. That’s exactly what happened the minute I made that remark. If I had known she was going to beat me by 34 minutes, I am sure I would have giggled just as much that morning but prepared better for it.

 The race
I had remembered to medicate and was feeling great when the race begun but by the second kilometer both my knees were cramping. After the third kilometer, running became impossible. I was in so much pain that I even contemplated giving up and walking back. That option would have implied doing another 3km but in the wrong direction i.e a total of 6km just so I could quit. The more I thought about it the less enticing it became so I decided to remain in the race.


The 3-km mark forever etched in my mind

 I walked – if one can even call it that – as fast as I could to cover as much distance as I could so as to get a somewhat good time. On several occasions I feared my legs would give out under me.

By the eighth-kilometer mark, I was starving. By then I had been walking for over an hour. Amidst all the excitement of the event, I had forgotten to have a much needed snack - especially given that breakfast had been at least three and a half hours before the race. Banana halves were being distributed from the side of the road but they didn’t look so appetizing so I grabbed a handful of  Dextro energy tablets instead. I felt slightly better but somewhere a long the way I developed a headache that wouldn’t go away.

The view was impeccable!

 I don’t know if it was the physical pain I was enduring that kept my thoughts off the distance or the long-distance training sessions of the months before but it all went so fast – until the last kilometer! MY GOODNESS, I thought that last bit would never end! The sidewalks were all laced with cheerers, the noise… “come on you are almost there” or “come on you can do it”. When you can’t do it like I couldn’t, such cheering can become another pain. Well it did for me.

Running a few steps just to cross the line was not even an option and as I approached the line walking, I felt somewhat like a failure. For a moment a wave of shame washed over me and I didn’t know exactly how to react. Then I quickly snapped out of it after realizing that I had just finished the race. I fired off a huge smile.

 While I made it to the finish line in one piece, I limped hard for days afterwards and it was no walk on the beach for sure. So currently I hold a personal best – and only time – of 1:38:53 for a 10k race.

The short-lived walk of shame:))

Reflections
Finish ”even if I’d have to crawl”. Yes, that’s what I said once upon a time and although I didn’t mean it, it sure came close to it. Without any desire to remember my next races like that, this year I am training slightly wiser which means choosing schedules with realistic goals for me and actually following the instructions given. Basically do the leg work right.

There’s also much room for improvement as regards preparing for race days. I made the same mistakes for the 5k as with the 10k. If I had to list them, this post would become twice as long. What I have learned, though, is that race days are not “normal” days and everything that happens that day has to revolve around the race. Planning, even days ahead is crucial.

Hopefully I’ll be able to participate in more events this year in pursuit of my goal to become a runner. And until I run a 10k, every such race will be the first one that I am set on running.