New 10k

I’m supposed to run a 10k this weekend.

I say SUPPOSED because it seems like races I have trained for since having The Artist do not often come to fruition due to injury. So I am hoping to run a 10k, 6.2 miles, Saturday.

It’ll be the first race I’ve run in over two years.

I’ve run inside on a treadmill and outside in the hills of our town, in my neighborhood, and around the lake at our parish park. I’ve run solo and with my running partner, in the morning, afternoon, and night – well, okay, maybe not at night. I hate running at night.

I haven’t run six miles yet, but I’ve run several five-mile routes. I ran 20 more miles the month of October than I did in September (and, by the way, haven’t lost a pound – but that’s probably because I really, really like my dairy and carbs).

Over the summer, I ran three miles at a time. I really didn’t venture higher in mileage than that. Summer was hard to run. The kids were home with me, and by 2 p.m., my treadmill room, which has little air circulation, was hot. Plus, to be fair, by 2 p.m. during naptime, I was tired. I wanted to take a nap, too. I ran mainly in the mornings, but it was summer. I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to go to work, so why would I do so to run? So silly.

This fall, though, Kyle decided to train for the 10k, too. And I’m a bit competitive in nature. Having him run four and five miles motivated me more, and I decided to train for the same 10k with him. It was hard at times, because for him to run, he has to wake up at 4:40 a.m. (Yes, you read that unholy time correctly.) But if he was waking up at that hour to run outside, I might as well wake up at that time to run inside.

I have always been of the school of thought that you shouldn’t increase your mileage more than 10 percent each week. But I did. Instead of running 12 miles a week, I started running 16 or 17. And, maybe because I started stretching more (though I am in no way consistent), I haven’t had an injury – yet.

And I am so excited about this race. Signing up for this particular race cost $30 – Kyle, whose longest race before now has been a 5k, couldn’t believe it was so expensive. I, on the other hand, couldn’t believe we got such a steal. It’s all a matter of perspective, I guess.

Something about standing with a bib number, feeling the jittery nerves, and hoping that you PR – it just is so exciting. You stand there, ready to race with hundreds of other runners, but, at least for me, we’re running together. I’m not competing with anyone else; my only competition is myself.

And for this particular race, my competition is a new PR. My last 10k PR was 1:08. I am not a super speedy runner by any means, and I was pregnant with The Artist at my last PR. This year, though, my goal is to make it in under an hour. And, if I don’t – well, that just means it’s time to start training for another race.