my first ever 10k
I thought I would write a little bit about my first ever 10K for you, my dear readers! Now, one thing you need to know is…I am NOT a runner. My whole life I have HATED running…despised it even, but I was looking for something to challenge me. Now, on occasion I would go out for a run but would maybe go 1-2 miles and it would make me sore for DAYS after, so I would never do it again. 
When my sister and BFF told me they were running this 10K (6.2 miles) again this year I did not want to be left out! So, I asked another one of my best friends, Casey, if she wanted to join us too! (Casey does triathalons and ran the Atlanta Half last year, so she was not a race newbie)…bring on the 10K!
*excuse my earwarmer, it looked much cooler in my mind…and I had already changed my shoes…
So, late August/early September rolls around and we registered…which also means I had to train. I went out for my first run and went about 2 miles at a 12:30 pace…ouch! Not good!!! I decided in this training to try out my own method of running…run until you have to stop and walk. I tried the Couch to 5K program in the past and it was not for me (however, I do highly recommend this method), it just wasn’t enough of a physical challenge for me and where I am in my fitness. (Also, the intervals/timing thing requires wayyyyyyyyy too much thought for me…I just want to run and decompress) So, I kept running and was doing pretty good around 2.5 miles easily. I was noticing a lot of knee/hip/shin pain and that was annoying me. I was reading the book called Born to Run (HIGHLY recommend for anyone interested in running…fascinating!!!) and they talk a lot about barefoot running. Scoff if you will, but after doing a TON of research (and finding no bad reviews/injuries…and I really tried hard), I decided to give the Vibram Five Fingers a try! Mind you, these things are UGLY and I actually vowed I would never wear them, but…I went against my own will.
So, I went for my first run and had ZERO joint pain (which was huuuuuge!!), although my calves were aching for DAYS because you land on the ball of your foot versus your heel in these shoes…but my pace was a full minute faster…crazy! So, I kept training in these (and continued getting sore calves) and made a snap decision after my longest run in them (5.3 miles) to try running the 10k in them! About a mile in my calves literally felt like they locked up and were as tired as they were at the 5 mile mark on Monday…but, I pushed through the pain and kept running (thanks to Justin Bieber, *NSync and Mariah Carey…) and finished the 10k in 65 minutes…my best time yet! Yeah!! I was a little achy in the calf-al region yesterday, but today I feel awesome…no soreness, no achy joints! VICTORY!
So, moral of the story for those of you that are tinkering on the edge of running? Do it!!! Just a few tips from my experience -
1. Don’t eat cheese and drink a diet coke right before you run (helllooooo cramp)
2. Find shoes that work FOR YOU. If it’s Vibrams, awesome!! A standard running shoe, great!!
3. Pick a training program that works for you. If you start one and hate it, pick another! The one I followed closest was Hal Higdon. But, if you would like a copy of the “Leah Case Run Until You Can’t Stop Scientific Training Program,” let me know…I will give you one for a mere $5,000.
4. Read “Born to Run”…it will make whatever race you are training for feel really easy compared to the ultramarathons those crazies run.
5. Register for a race…you need something to work towards!
Next up…marathon!!! Err…maybe just another 10k.
So, have you ever run a race before?
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