Every year in April, Colegio San Gabriel, a school for deaf children, hosts a 10k race in San Juan. My running group gets really involved in this race and most people either run or volunteer to help. Last year I didn’t run because I already had another 10k and thought it was going to be too much so I volunteered giving out the medals after the race. 

Even though I didn’t run, the thought of doing the race stayed with me and I promised myself I would run this year. I wanted to be a part of this event in which a lot of my friends run and at the same time help raise money for the school. Without even realizing the Colegio San Grabriel race was also in April, I signed up for the next two other races in the 10k challenge, which happened to fall in this month too. After thinking about it, talking to my coach and considering his advice (that it was a lot for one month), I signed up. 

He did say it was a lot but never said I shouldn’t do it and didn’t have any objections after I told him I signed up. Since then, my intention was always to participate but not to push myself too much or try to break any personal record because I still have another race next week. 

Before the race started I felt pretty good because I had already walked a little which helped me warm up so I was able to run for the first mile.There is no problem running a whole mile with no breaks. That’s easy to do at a 5k because it’s just three miles, but not at a 10k where you still have five more miles to go.

Just when I was deciding what was going to be my plan for the rest of the race,  Ana caught up to me. She did have a plan for the race and it was good. Her plan was to run for four minutes, walk 40 seconds and it was a great plan. We stuck to it for the rest of the race and were still able to talk, crack jokes and even say hi to and cheer on other people we saw throughout the race and even motivated each other.

As we got closer to the finish line, my watch was marking less than one hour and 22 minutes, my time for last week’s race and the time I wanted to beat mow. I was tired but I just needed that little bit of energy you always get when you see the finish line to run across it and get there like an athlete.

I was so happy when I got across it, get my water, banana, electrolytes, medal and see my friends who also finished the race. I am always so happy to be able to share that moment with them, with the people who I have seen training for this too, who know how it feels and who cheer you on as you cheer for them too. 

I got even happier when I saw the result; on my watch it said one hour and 20 minutes. Then later when I found the official result it said my time was 1:19:56, just a few seconds faster but 19 sounds better than 20. That is still not my personal record but it’s my second fastest time so far and I wasn’t even aiming for that this time. I have to thank Ana for that because without her plan and push to keep up, I wouldn’t have done so well.

I hope this race went well for everyone there today. I had a lot of fun and I’m already looking forward to my third and last 10k this month. I am hoping to break my personal record of 1:17:32 on that one.

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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