19 done ... 33 to go...

What: #73 Run a 10K

When: July 25th
Where: Chicago
Why: For many years, I've run a maximum of a 5K and not a step beyond it. At 3.1 miles, my body knew it was done and it shut off accordingly. For a few years, I did sprint triathlons and did the run after a swim and a bike race, but still, at 3.1 miles, my legs and lungs proceeded to call it quits. This has been fine, until I got it in my head to run the Detroit Half-Marathon in October. It was a decision made entirely without proof that I could run that far, and so I've spent the past few weeks on a training program to push myself to go beyond a 5K distance.

Luckily, an opportunity came up for me to try a 10K in a city that I know is flat enough to not add any additional pressure to increasing my distance. Plus, I had friends that were running the 5K at the same event, so it would be a fun way to see them and to support my university at the Big Ten 10K in Chicago.

Around 6am on the morning of the run, the temperatures were already in the high 70's with high humidity, so there were concerns about how that would impact my run. I wasn't trying to get a personal best, just to reach as many of my 10 goals for my 10K as possible. Those goals were:

1) Finish it
2) Don't be last
3) Drink at every station
4) Be nice to Ohio State people
5) Don't take any selfies during the run
6) Go on the slip-n-slide
7) Keep at least a 14 min/mile pace
8) Don't get hurt
9) Don't pass out
10) Have fun

I accomplished 7 of my 10 goals. I failed at #4 when I saw an Ohio State girl totally cut a corner (oh, it was obvious!) and everyone around me that saw it started trash-talking her and that school and I joined right in on it. I failed at #5 because I have an awesome app that takes cool front/back pictures and I had to use it. I failed at #6 because the line was sooooo long that I couldn't imagine standing around for 10-15 minutes while the rest of the runners left me behind. I almost failed at #9, but luckily I had stashed an emergency granola bar in my pocket to eat when I felt faint. Oh, and I totally accomplished #7 by over a minute per mile!

Feeling pretty good for my first try!