medical center 10k classic.

I realized the other day that I am very unhappy with the amount of motivation I have to excercise. I ran the KY Derby Mini Marathon this past April (you can read about it here), so I was highly motivated to run almost every day leading up to the race. Who wants to show up on race day and not be able to finish it? Not I.

I told myself I’d be an idiot to run another mini marathon, after practically dying at the finish line, so I got the brilliant idea to do half of a half marathon, also known as a 10k. I’ve never done one before, so I am excited to take part in it. For all you non-runners out there, a 10k is 6.2 miles. You’re welcome.

Every year Bowling Green hosts the Medical Center 10k Classic in the fall. I signed up for it with just a little over two months to get my booty in gear train.

I have run a little bit since the mini and I even ran a 5k with my dad in June. But I really wouldn’t say I’ve been consistent in running. Now that I am signed up for a race, I know I can’t say, “Eh, I don’t think I’ll run today, maybe tomorrow or next week”. I have set a goal time of one hour for myself. That would put me at just barely under a ten minute mile. For me, that is definitely do-able. And after missing my goal time by four lousy minutes at the mini, I am really determined to do it this time.

With all of that being said, here is the training guide that I will (do my best to) follow for the next couple of months:

If you would like to join me for the race, you can visit this website to register. Good luck!

5k results.

If there was ever a proudest moment in my life, it was on Saturday morning when I ran a 5K. I know what you might be thinking…”Geeze, she’s humble”. But I’m not talking about being proud of myself. I’m talking about my DAD! My dad ran track in high school, but has not run competitively since then. Saturday was his first road race ever and he ran it in 40 minutes and 13 seconds. He finished 3rd in his age division and received a medal after the race. His goal was to finish the race in under 40 minutes and while he barely missed that, him finishing the race and doing as well as he did, is enough of an accomplishment in itself, in my opinion. He was pleased with the results and, of course, his family was as well.

the front had the race logo on it and the back had his place and age division.

He said after the race that he plans to run the entire 5k in December when my whole family does one in Gatlinburg, TN. He has been working so hard for this and I can’t wait to see his future results.

Right before the race (about 8:15am) it poured down rain. My hometown had not had rain for about 6-8 weeks according to my parents so it was a bittersweet moment, because they needed the rain, BUT at about 8:28 it stopped raining and we started the race. It barely sprinkled once around the 2 mile marker and the rest of the time was pretty pleasant…a bit humid, but not bad. After we crossed the finish line, we posed for a picture and a minute later it was a torrential downpour. We had to move under a canopy. Is God good or what for holding off that rain for the EXACT time of the race?!

my dad, an official 5k-er!

I’m just so unbelievably proud of him for setting these goals and for working so hard to achieve them. He is such an inspiration to our entire family and I’m very encouraged by his determination and perseverance. You have one very proud daughter, Dad. Thanks for being my hero. I love you!

thirteen point one.

After crossing the finish line and receiving our medals. Kristina showing off her new bling, too! 🙂

We did it! I can’t tell you how great it feels to have accomplished it and how thankful I am to have gotten through it all. While I didn’t reach my goal time of 2:10, I did run the entire race! Which was my number one goal in the first place. My second goal was missed by FOUR stinking minutes. Annoying. Yep, my official time was 2:14:27. Let me just tell you though, I went through every single emotional possible while running those thirteen miles. I’ll explain myself, while giving details about the race.

NERVOUS: At the starting line, my nerves were going crazy. I was excited that the day had finally approached, but I was so nervous of multiple disasters capable of happening. I was worried I wouldn’t beat my goal time (which I didn’t, but who cares). I was worried I’d suffer a major injury during the race (which I didn’t, whew!). I also worried I would need to stop and walk (which I didn’t! YAY!). But all in all, I had no reason to be nervous. I did what I originally went to do…and that was to finish the race.

ANNOYED: At mile 3.5 I got the beloved cramp in my side. Up until this point, all the friends I started the race with had stayed together. Once the cramp hit, I knew I needed to drop back a little and let the pain down before I pushed too hard and needed to stop. I was glad I did, because at about mile 4, it went away! The annoyance passed.

MOTIVATED: At mile 4, I was feeling pretty strong. I was keeping  right on track with my 10 minute mile pace and I was very motivated at this point to even try and pick it up a little. I actually felt this way until mile 7, when we entered Churchill Downs. Dun dun dun…

FRUSTRATED: As we entered the race track right after mile 7, I was feeling good. But as soon as we had to go through two separate tunnels (entrance and exit) that were extremely narrow, I was very frustrated. It didn’t bother me when we were out on the open road that people stopped to walk. But if you’re going to walk through the most narrow part of the coarse, look out for those still running and MOVE OVER. At one point I felt like I was jogging in place, because people were acting like they were out for their Sunday stroll. Eventually, I made it out of there and I was able to focus back on my time again and get away from people.

CONTENT: I was feeling really content from about mile 8 or 9 until close to 10.5 or so (you get kind of lost with mileage after so long). But again, I was keeping on track with my 10 minute miles. Once I reach close to mile 11, I could definetly tell I was slowing down to more of a 10:10 mile or somewhere around there. But I just kept telling myself it was almost over; I was almost done.

ANGRY: As I approached the final few miles, (I thought) up ahead I could see the finish line banner. It was a straight shot to what I saw, but I knew it was still kind of a ways off. I could tell it was a huge banner, and really, why would anyone else have a banner up on the race coarse? Well, it wasn’t the finish line, guys. It was a stupid beer banner. What the heck? After I passed that banner, I could see the mile marker for mile TWELVE. One more mile to go…

UPSET: Somewhere after I passed the mile twelve marker, I looked at my watch and knew that I was too far off from the finish line to beat my goal time of 2:10. I wanted to push harder so bad, but I felt like if I did, I would keel over and die. All these thoughts just rushed through my head like, “why didn’t I stay with my friends?”, “why did I get in that mess at the last water station and let it slow me down?”, “why can’t I pick up my pace right now?” I seriously thought if I didn’t see the finish line in a couple minutes, tears were going to stream down my face. I just wanted to be done.

EXCITED: And there it was! I turned a corner and I saw the finish line. I was only 3 minutes passed my goal time at this point, so I went into an all-out, full-out sprint (it probably didn’t look this way to bystanders, but it sure felt like a sprint – and I was definitely moving faster). My knees, my thighs, and my calves hurt so bad, but I didn’t care, I was just excited to see the finish line so close! After I crossed the finish line I heard my friend yell, “Jill! You did it! And Kristina just got engaged!” I had finished the half-marathon I spent the last 5 months training for and on top of THAT one of my best friends got engaged as she crossed the finish line. Her and her fiance ran the race with us too. It was quite an exciting moment for everyone.

RELIEF: It felt so good to be done. I was proud of myself for finishing and not walking at all. It really was an incredible feeling. The Lord gave me all the strength I needed to get through it and I am so thankful for that. I’m blessed to have had my husband there cheering me on and great friends to encourage me before and after the race.

But let me just put this out there now…as proud as I am, as good as it felt, and as much as I liked it (at moments), it will be my one and only half-marathon. I’m saying it now, so that if I ever get the idea of doing another one, you will smack me silly. This girl is a one hit wonder kinda runner.

Next up: Bowling Green Triathlon in August. Who’s with me?