My first 15k

Last Saturday, I participated in my first 15k (9.32 miles). I decided to run it because in my training plan, I was supposed to run 8 miles. What’s 1.32 more? When I first started, my pace was great and I ran my fastest 5k yet. But after I reached mile 7, I hit a wall and my legs became tight and sore. I stopped at one point to stretch them out and realized, I was being followed by a van. Anyone who has participated in a race knows what that means. I was in last place. I didn’t have time to stop and walk because everyone was waiting on me to cross the finish line. The last two miles were my toughest, but I finished. When crossing the finish line of a race, there are usually a lot of people cheering for you to finish hard and to support you, but not this race. I crossed the finish line in one hour and 54 minutes, which is very good for me, with only one person there to greet me. But as disappointed as I was by the lack of support, I was happy to have finished.

Tonight I was supposed to run 5 miles. I decided to wait until 9:30pm to do it on my treadmill. Unfortunately, not only have I been very tired this week, I didn’t wait long enough after I ate. Even though I finished, I felt awful. I was slow and sluggish.  It was easier for me to run seven or even nine miles than it was to run five today. But I know that every day is different, and when I run my long run (9 miles) this weekend, I hope I will feel better.  More than anything, I hope to recover better and finish stronger than I did last weekend. Every day is a new day for a PR, and every week, I get stronger and faster.