This month I signed up for three 10k races, three weeks in a row. After I signed up for all three, I got a little nervous that it might be too much for me. I was afraid I might get hurt or too tired and would burnout after the second one, or even during the last one. I was told this one, El Guatibiri del Otoao, used to be a half marathon but was later changed to a 10k because it was too much. But I couldn’t let that scare me, I had to try. 

So on Sunday morning, I headed to Utuado with my friend Josephine for the third and last race. We got there a few hours early, picked up our bib numbers, walked around a bit and waited for the race to start. We were able to see a few others from our running group as we walked to the starting point. I thought this was a great way to warm up.

When the race started we all went our separate ways; I was focused on following the plan my trainer advised me to follow, run, then walk four minutes after every half mile. This was easy to follow at first, until I got to El Caracol (The Seashell). That was the hardest part of the race and we had already been warned about it but I still wasn’t sure where it was or what to expect. I just knew it was supposed to be the hardest part of the race, but I thought maybe it was an exaggeration because people don’t like hills.

It was at mile 2 when I saw everyone going up a very inclined road. None of them looked like they were running and I wondered why? Maybe fear? I didn’t get it but I wasn’t scared, I was sure I could do it and I started running. I wasn’t even halfway up but I couldn’t run anymore and decided it wasn’t worth burning out so early in the race. This was just the beginning, I still had four miles to go.

After making it to the end of El Caracol, alive and well, there was a much needed oasis. I drank some water and took my cap off to throw some over my head. When I did this, I forgot my sunglasses had been resting on top of my cap. I tried to turn back around to find them when I realized it but I was too far ahead from where I dropped them and there were so many people coming I was never going to find them, so I had to go on without them.

Even though the rest of the race wasn’t completely flat, there was nothing compared to that first mountain we had to climb so the rest felt a lot easier. I tried the best I could to keep following the plan for running and walking, that was until I was almost there. 

I had been trying really hard to beat my time from the last race, one hour and 20 minutes and maybe even get closer to my overall PR, one hour and 17. When I saw that it wasn’t going to happen I felt like it really didn’t matter anymore, maybe I could just relax and walk the rest of the way. I was already on the track, wondering if I would be able to cross the finish line running when the woman behind me told me I couldn’t keep walking,  she said she had been behind me most of the race, I couldn’t start walking now and I couldn’t finish the race like that. 

That was it, that was the boost I needed to start running to the end. Thanks to that woman I finished in 1:25:06. It wasn’t my best time, but it wasn’t my worst either. It was more than both my other races in April but both of those races were on flat surfaces and in the morning. I can’t compare this one to either one of those and considering how much harder this was, I am very happy what I did. 

I’m so happy that I survived all three races this month but now I have to recover. My coach only gave me three runs this week, instead of my usual four and I only signed up for one 5k in May. I need to take it easy for now. 

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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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