This is it! I’m hydrated and rarin’ to go for the big race. Stay tuned for pictures and results. Wish me luck!
Update: I did it! Well, sorta. The course was actually pretty hard and I had to walk the last couple of hills. I think my increased pace from the “race day adrenaline” made up for it, though, because my time was pretty much the same as it was on the treadmill (despite my unfamiliarity with running outdoors and the pounding heat from the sun). Here are the official results, which show me coming in at 356th out of 663 participants. (Note that I was just beaten by a ten-year-old. Sheesh.) I was disappointed that I had to walk at all, but the Snook pointed out that everybody except the first few runners had to walk the last hill. So that made me feel better. And I was definitely not last. There were hundreds of women running, jogging, and walking, and it felt good just to be out there among them challenging myself.
  
  
The first is good ol’ number 7929 before the race. (My tummy is really not that round, I swear. It’s the shirt.) I’m squinting because although it’s only 8:30 a.m., the sun is bright and it’s already above 70 degrees. The second is me sprinting towards the finish line. My mouth is open because I’m trying to yell “I’m going to die!” at the Snook but I lack the moisture to form the words. The last is me after the race, wearing my little “participation” medal and picking up my goodie bag of drinks and power bars. Man, it felt good to be done. That was seriously one of the hardest things I’ve done in years.
Claire
June 16, 2002 — 6:13 pm
GO KRIS!!! Woo!! 🙂
brigita
June 17, 2002 — 11:46 pm
congrats, woman! sun and hills are deadly, but you did great considering your treadmill-only training! one suggestion—don’t stop running. if you take too long of a break, it’ll be like starting from scratch if you want to get back into it (as i’ve recently discovered).
brigita
June 17, 2002 — 11:47 pm
and ps—get the snook to do the next one with you!
Kris
June 18, 2002 — 12:22 am
You mean, don’t stop running now, right? At first I thought you meant during the race. (It IS damn hard to start back up afterwards.) But if you mean now, yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I used to hate running, but now (at least on the treadmill) it’s becoming a little easier and I’m enjoying it more. I don’t like the outside so much just yet, mostly because I feel very self-conscious. At least in my gym it’s only gay men looking at my sweaty red face. 🙂
Another problem with Sunday’s run – the water situation. I was all hydrated and stuff, but they screwed up and only had one water station, about 1 km into the race. So I had to run the middle 3 or so without any water. And the sun was HOT and there wasn’t a lot of shade. I got really dry and sticky-mouthed. When I run on the treadmill, I take frequent sips, so I just wasn’t prepared for that.
Ha! I wish. He likes to walk, but that’s about the extent of his athletic ambitions. He did the 10K walk with me, but he refuses to go to the gym or entertain the concept of jogging. Stubborn little bugger.
brigita
June 18, 2002 — 1:21 am
now that you mention it, the “don’t stop” advice applies to both situations, although i was speaking more to your post-race training. it took some serious motivation to run just 30 min. yesterday on the treadmill. 🙁
as for the heat/dehydration, i totally sympathize. the only reason i did as well as i did on my run was because it was barely 60 degrees and overcast the whole time. apparently it had been almost 90 the year before. if that had been the case for me, i wouldn’t have even gotten out of bed!
Tricia
June 18, 2002 — 2:57 am
Yeah! Congratulations, Kris! You did great. Hills, sun and heat definitely make a difference; it’s great you stuck with it and finished strong.
I agree with Brigita; for me running is all about inertia. If I’m in the habit of running it’s fun and not too hard, but once I stop, it is so hard to get back into it.
You might have fun getting outside to train some time. I sometimes feel self-conscious, too, but figure at least I’m out there doing it, whatever anyone else might think. And it’s all worth it, being outdoors. It’s never the same run twice: different people walking by, different weather, different traffic. I’ve seen so much interesting stuff while running.
Anyway, again, congratulations!
psorr
June 18, 2002 — 5:38 am
Congrats! I also wilt in the heat, too bad they didn’t have more water on the course.
I’ll echo the thread of sticking with it. You lose 60% of your fitness by taking just 3 weeks off…pretty depressing, but yet another reason to hang in there. (There’s nothing wrong with taking a few days off after a race, however–it’s usually the healthy way to go.)
And yes, running outside is much more interesting–having a camelback would solve your hydration issues. As a runner I’m always glad to see _anyone_ out there, regardless of how fast they are. And the opinions of non-runners just don’t count 🙂
LittleJ
June 18, 2002 — 5:54 am
Yay Pants!!! Great job! Seriously, utterly impressive.
brigita
June 18, 2002 — 6:47 am
word, jeff—you’ll never hear a snarky comment from a fellow runner… just don’t mind those lay-abouts hanging out in the sidewalk cafes—they’re jealous of your motivation. 🙂
Kris
June 18, 2002 — 9:32 am
You guys are making me wish I had a running buddy. 🙁
Tricia
June 18, 2002 — 11:42 am
I don’t have a “real” running buddy either, but you’ve got several virtual ones right here. 🙂
Kris
June 18, 2002 — 12:21 pm
Thanks Tricia. And hey, you’ve got a blog! Very nice. I know a lot of people who use this service for comments, if you’re still looking to get them going.
Tricia
June 18, 2002 — 3:40 pm
Thanks, Kris!! Your link worked and I’m ready for comments! (can you tell I’m a little excited??)