Sunday, October 4, 2009

Lessons from my first 10K


I sit here with sore glutes, an upset stomach and a LOT of pride after completing my first 10k with my brother-in-law David in a very respectable 55 minutes, 10 seconds. David's pretty fast, and he's also 8 years younger than me, and I'm pretty sure he could have run it in even a few minutes faster than that--but he was a gentleman and stayed at my pace from the start line to the finish line.

I can tell David had not only a great time in terms of when he crossed the finish line, but a great time meaning a great run. I'm jealous. For me, as much as I enjoyed the experience with running with my husband's little brother (much more enjoyable than running solo) and the sights of Key Biscayne (vultures! peacocks!), it was a rough run for me.

I made the mistake of running this 10k the way I've run my previous 5ks: which is to say as fast as I could. Plus, I'd had my weekly long run with Team in Training the previous day and I felt every moment of Saturday's 8 mile run as I took on today's 6.2. Not smart of me at all.

My theory about 5ks is that they are very short, and anyone can endure a little misery for 25-30 minutes, so I've just thrown my body into the dynamic of the race, not trying to find and maintain an enjoyable pace at all. And I'm someone who loves to feel good while running, so this is a big sacrifice--but walking away with better-than-expected times has made that worthwhile.

But a 10k is quite literally twice the length of a 5k. And 55:10 is a really long time to go "as fast as you possibly can." It made all 6 miles just crawl by for me (I remember looking around frantically for the elusive mile marker 4), which is the opposite of how a long run feels to me when I'm running on my own.

And as David pointed out, if 6.2 miles feels long, imagine 26.2.

I may have to run a few more medium-length races before my marathon so I can really learn how to run at a normal pace without getting carried away by the excitement and adreneline rush of a racing event.

Because as soon as I hear "Ready, set, go!" I GO. And really, I need to learn how to just go.

12 comments:

  1. Oh my God! Look at that runner's body of yours! You look AWESOME!!! Uh, why not just say it like it is: You ARSE hurts!!

    Awesome race! Especially since you ran eight miles on Saturday! I'm so excited for you! Can't wait to run a race with you sometime soon!

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  2. Great time! my first 10K was Sept 12 and my time was 1:09:09. I was proud but now I'm feeling slow.:)

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  3. You should be proud, Kristen. That IS a great time and I bet you felt good the whole time! I'm proud of my time but I definitely ran outside my comfort zone the whole time and today I am feeling it!

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  4. Good job Jorie!! I just finished C25k and am starting on Hal Higdon's Novice 10k program. I did 4 miles yesterday, but like you, my body feels sore today. My hips are sore and my toes are sore (they were rubbing against each other). Shoe problem, sock problem, just tired? Any advice?

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  5. Thanks, Lucky! I used to get foot blisters, particularly toe blisters, but heavily coating them in baby powder first and then wearing Nike Dri Fit socks totally solved that problem for me. Until you're healed if your blisters are really bad, you might want to use bandage tape on the blisters if you run again in the near future.

    The hip pain could be because of the way you run, if you're not wearing the right running shoes. I know people who overpronate can have that problem, and you can get stability running shoes that will correct your gait and keep the pressure off your hips. Unless you're just talking about muscle soreness in your thighs/butt--that's just from overexertion! Good luck w/ the training!!

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  6. Thanks for the advice Jorie! (BTW I gave you the compliment/friended you on WW board- similiar username, but just wanted to identify myself. We have a great thread named the "Racy Runners"). It is weird, not really a blister, just like a friction rub. I have been using running socks from Roadrunner sports, both thin and medium weight. Problems seem to occur with the medium weight socks. I must admit that I opted for Nikes (Moto 7) in my street size and not 1/2 size bigger like recommended. I did that because the larger shoe was slipping in the heel. Now, I think that may have been a mistake! Seems like as I am increasing speed/distance the shoes are not so comfortable. Maybe Nike is not for me- pegasus did not work trying on in the store. RRS said I was a neutral runner (after testing), so my shoes are neutral. I think it is a little more than muscle soreness, but not sure if it is due to gait or shoes. I think I am going to put glide (what are your thoughts on this?) on my toesies and try shoes one more time. I have some baby powder somewhere, so I will try that too! Thanks again and you are kicking butt with your training :-)

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  7. Lucky, I wear the Lunarglides in my street size, but have gone up in non-Nike shoes. It's all about fit and the Nikes I've worn are big in the toe box, which is wear the swelling is, and I don't want too much sliding around so I don't want to go up too high in size. Are you wearing socks that aren't cotton? The synthetics are best (again, can't say enough good things about Dri Fit!) I personally hate thick running socks and go for as lightweight as possible. I swear finding the right shoe is the hardest part of it all! Now I feel like I'm golden because I found the right shoes for me, but the entire summer was expensive trial and error with various sizes and makes.

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  8. I read your blog posts about finding your right shoe, so thought you would be a good person to ask! Yeah, I was trying to balance roomy toebox without slipping in the heel. I thought it was roomy enough with my Motos. I am wearing synthetic runner socks from Roadrunner sports, but one is thin and the other is medium. I don't think the medium weight is working out for me. Darn! I will have to check out the Dri-Fit socks, I have some of the dri-fit clothing and like it. I wore Adidas before with some success, but never put this mileage or time on those. Are the lunars for stability?

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  9. Lunars are stability but the support is pretty good as well. The only issue I had with them was the blisters, but baby powder and the Nike Dri Fit socks fixed that. Of course everybody has totally different feet so you might not like the Lunarglides. It really is tough--I think finding the right guy to marry was easier than this!

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  10. Tee hee, that is hilarious :-) Did you replace your insoles with the store bought ones (Superfeet, etc). I read about your orthotic debacle, but wondering if you changed out insoles. I am going to run tomorrow and see how it goes with the glide, etc. It is a shorter run, so we'll see how I do. Now that you are doing the long runs, do you have trouble finding places to run? My neighborhood is a little shady, so there are some streets I don't want to run and some are too busy. But I find I get bored running the same route all the time. Aren't you worried to run in the dark too? There aren't really sidewalks in my 'hood so I have to run on the street and the I might run into some creepy people that early. Oh, what you feel about running with other people? I have felt like running is my tune out meditative time and don't know if I could keep up my pace/mental place running w/someone else. A friend just asked if I wanted to run together though. I know you mostly run on your own, but also with the TNT. Thanks Jorie, you are a good resource :-)

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  11. I've actually been afraid to change insoles because I haven't had a problem with the ones that came with the lunars--and after all I went through, I just didn't want to risk it! I might give it a try, though--or not! I am scared!

    We live in a pretty clean cut suburb with lots of people running and biking pre-dawn, so I feel OK about running. I do wear a safety light and stay on the sidewalk. I only run on asphalt with my TNT group run. I haven't really seen anyone creepy, just some strangely dressed runners!

    I liked running with my brother in law and like my weekly team runs, but like you, I prefer to run alone most of the time. I think it's a good way to get in tune with your own natural pace. Plus, if someone whines that they want to stop it really throws me off! That happened with a TNT member once and I deliberately avoid him now. He's always saying, "Are we there yet?? It's so hot! My knees hurt!" Big baby!!

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  12. Thanks Jorie for all your advice! I agree, someone whining would totally throw me off!

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