For the month of March, I set a goal to run ten miles every day to avoid weight gain. On the second day of the month, the goal was put to the test. I heard a 5K was being put on in BCK (Big City Kyle, that's what +Amber McGee refers to our town). I looked up the results from last year and thought to myself that I could actually win this race. I am not a big fan of 5K's and 10K's because I am so used to running the longer distances, I do not know how to pace myself in the shorter races. I also do not think I am as fast in the shorter distances. Thinking I had a chance, I signed up for it. This was going to my second 5K race ever. At the beginning of the race, I thought I needed to hang with the leading pack and lay down the hammer at the end to win. When the race started, I had to avoid running over the kids who were also participating. They sprinted as far as they can and then ran out of gas. Right off the bat, there was a guy in front of me. I was like crap, I am going to have to work for this victory. I finally passed him around mile 2, and the only thing between me and the finish was a slight hill at the end. I love inclines and powered through it without any issues. I crossed the line first without any other runners in sight. I WON! I actually f-ing won a race with a time of 21:05. It was a pretty cool feeling. In between the finish of the race and the awards ceremony, I actually ran another seven miles to get my ten in for the day.
Waking up every day to run ten miles was tough. Some mornings I just wanted to stay in bed. One Saturday, I had to wake up at 5:30 am to get the run in because we had early SXSW plans. Because I won the 5K, I won a free month to Camp Gladiator. Camp Gladiator is an outdoor boot camp. So with that, running, and my usual pickup basketball games, my legs held up pretty well throughout the month. My IT band was a little bothersome in the beginning, but it got stronger as the days past. I finally made it to the end of the month without any major hiccups. I ended up running more miles than what Amber put on her car for the month of March.In the month of April, I ran two more 5K's. I finished second in one of them and first in the other. I was a little bit disappointed on the second place finish because I was hoping I would win three races. After winning the second 5K, I was not that excited. It was cool that I won, but that was about it. I was not a fan of that race because a part of it was through a park on trails. Running on trails just eats up your energy. I think I am going to stick to running the longer races from now on.
After those races, I thought my racing season was over. I was wrong. One of my friends wanted to run a ten miler because she had just turned 30. She had actually run a half marathon before I did. Well on her last long run, she fell and hurt herself. I felt bad for her, but I was able to run for free under her bib (Thanks, Eileen). In the first part of April, I did not log that many miles. I guess my body was little bit tired from my mileage in March. I was not ready to race a longer distance. The race was Austin 10/20, and this was its' second year. The race is pretty flat and is held in the Domain area. Going into the race, I knew I could not set a personal record. I just went out and ran the entire race at a comfortable pace. It was overcast that day and a little humid, but other than that, it was good racing weather especially for April. I ended up running a respectable time of 1:13. You got a free beer at the end of the race which was pretty cool. I started a running group on Facebook with members all over the world last August. After the race, I met a few of them who lived in Texas.
What's next? Is my racing season officially over? I told you I was going to try to bridge the gap...
Until next time, happy running.
