Last week, I had a lot more time after my runs because I have been getting shorter runs since I finished the Sabrina 16 miles so I either ran at the park nearby or on the treadmill at home. After I was done running, I had a lot of free time left, so I decided to put that time to good use and added strength and core workouts to my daily routine.
I had tried to do this before but only on Mondays and Fridays, the two days I don’t run. I knew I had to add to strength workouts for legs and core. I wasn’t sure if any of my work from just four days last week would make any difference for the 10k I signed up for last weekend. I know those things take time, but I still hoped to see some improvement and in the end I think there was a little.
When I got to the 10k Domingo Apellaniz in Caraño on Sunday morning, I couldn’t see where the race started. I saw a lot of people walking but I thought they were just warming up, until I realized they were walking to the starting line, so I started walking too. I’m not sure how long the walk was but I think maybe like half a mile. I was happy about this because it helped me warm up a little. What helped me even more was that I thought the race was about to start and started running to get there in time. I quickly realized it wasn’t starting yet, but that helped me warm up a little more.
When I got there, I was happy to find some friends from the running group, which made me feel better because I didn’t know who else would be there. Knowing I’m not alone in a race always makes me feel safer. It helped me not get too impatient while we wait because there are friends to talk to.
As soon as the race started, my ankle started bothering me. It wasn’t a pain I couldn’t stand or that would prevent me from running, but it’s not something you want to feel for 6.2 miles. I had two options, either walk a little until it felt better but I knew I would definitely have no chance of breaking my PR, or to keep running hoping it would go away but that could hurt more in the end. I took a risk and chose the latter; I was pretty sure it wasn’t a big deal and would go away soon enough. After running 15 miles after scraping my knee, this was nothing.
This race was not difficult because there were no hills or winding roads, so I didn’t have to change my pace a lot; what made it difficult was the sun. The race started at 6:30 so the sun was already out when we started and it just kept getting hotter and hotter as we kept going. There were plenty of oasis with enough water but I didn’t take enough energy gummies to the race. I didn’t think I would need that many so I took a bag that was almost empty and that was a big mistake. I didn’t think I would need them but I learned that I should always bring more than what I think I’m going to need, just in case.
By the time I was close to finishing I walked in the shade if I found any, again decided to walk more than run. It’s a good thing I’m a fast walker. I also had people motivating me to keep running. That’s the good thing about these events, they’re called races but it’s not a competition, at least not against the rest of the participants. People don’t try to put you down or beat you, instead they motivate and help you get to the end, even people you don’t know.
There were also people from my running group who weren’t running that day, but were there to cheer on other members of the group. Seeing them near the end and hearing them cheering helped me push a little more to finish the race.
I didn’t break my personal record for a 10k; I finished in 1:19:59, a little over 2 minutes over my fastest time but it was my third fastest 10k. Next race is high in the mountains in October so it won’t be that hot but it will have hills. I have been able to keep working on my strength training this week so hopefully my legs will be stronger by then.
