This weekend was my fourth race in the Puerto Rico 10k Challenge, the Del Carmen 10k in Hatillo. I had no idea what to expect from this race, how many people would be there, if it would have hills or mountains, absolutely nothing. I did hear that it was a great race, but I didn’t realize just how popular it was, until we got there and immediately found traffic.

Regardless of this, my friend who was kind enough to give me a ride and I found parking, made our way to the bus that took us to the starting line, and joined the rest of the runners who were all warming up, stretching and eager to go. .

Thank you both for all the support before and after the race!

This time I did have a plan before the race started; I decided to walk for two minutes after every half mile. I didn’t want to run for too long and get tired but I also didn’t want to get too comfortable walking too much. I followed my plan but I made an exception in the mountains, like I always do; I ran up and mostly walked down, unless it wasn’t too steep. 

It got a little difficult when my ankle started bothering me, again. I knew I could push through and keep running, but it really wasn’t worth being in more pain later so I walked a little longer than two minutes until I felt a little better. 

I finished the race in 1:24:58, which wasn’t my best time for a 10k, but not my worst either. Even though I didn’t finish the race anywhere near my fastest time, because of that decision to take it easy when the pain hit, it wasn’t my slowest time either and I wasn’t in pain for much longer after. I was also able to go meet my friends after I was done. They surprised me by holding a place in line for me to pick up my kit for next weekend’s 10k in Salinas. I didn’t ask them to do that, but that’s what friends do. 

After resting yesterday, now I have one week prepared for the fifth 10k in the challenge, my fourth. I didn’t realize these two were just one week apart when I signed up but I can’t do anything about it now. That one will be in the morning, which I think is better, I’ll be eager to finish and watch the last game of the World Cup. 

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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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