My first 10k!

[Guest guest]

Today was my very first ever 10k race and I had a BLAST! I was so worried

going in. I have no idea why, except maybe the bats from yesterday were

still hanging around. I felt nauseous and cranky. (Fortunately I maintained

because I hate stressing so much before a race, so I didn't want to add to

it.)

The weatherman said to not expect a single moment of dry weather today, so

that was kind of a bummer. Every time we've had a race there has been rain

in the forecast, and every time we've been blessed with at best sun and a

cool breeze, and at worst overcast with no rain. It didn't look like today

was going to cooperate. Right before we left, though, Roy came into the

bedroom and said " Remember how it said rain all day? Look outside. " The sun

was peeking through the clouds and while it was still overcast, it looked

promising.

We got there with plenty of time to register for the race. We picked up our

bibs and timing chips. Roy switched from the 10k to the 5k. I had

accidentally signed him up for the 10k and he wasn't ready for that yet. He

wants to work on improving his 5k time. We looked at the course map and

noticed that we could run together for the first mile and a half before the

5kers broke off and headed back in the loop.

The course was well organized. All traffic was stopped on neighborhood

streets, and traffic police were on all major city streets re-routing and

directing traffic. Very nice! Nothing like playing dodge-car to throw you

off your pace! The weather was holding. It was chilly, but no rain. Chilly

for a long run is great. Rainy is not. Right before we were to line up I

decided to go without my jacket and hat and just pop my Gu in my pocket. I'm

glad I did because I was just right the entire race. Never too cold or too

hot, and I would have been too hot with my jacket.

We lined up in our pace groups. I didn't know what my 10k pace was so I

chose 10/11 min mile. As we were lining up I ran into Angie Cartmill and we

introduced each other to our running mates. We hugged, wished each other

luck, and crawled back into our heads to prep for the race. Part of the

competition was a costume competition where the top winner got two tickets

to anywhere in the country on Alaska Airlines, so we were running with

Nefertiti, Athena (it was the Everett to Athens race, after all), and a guy

that had a box of twinkies attached to a pole in front of him, as well as a

lot of other fun costumes.

The air horn went off and we made it through the rather narrow chute. First

leg was uphill but it was nothing like the viaduct in last week's race, so

while others were huffing and puffing we were joking that this was easy. My

first kilometer or so I was feeling wonky, but the bats were leaving and my

stomach was settling. I convinced myself once again that I needed to go to

the bathroom, but I didn't really. Before we knew it we were at 1k. Wow! I

called out " ONE DOWN! NINE TO GO!! " and someone else called out " I love your

attitude! " Right at that point I settled in and felt really good. That's

what it's all about for me. Having fun, feeling pumped, and pumping up

others. Roy and I ran together and chatted a little bit off and on and

before we knew it, there was his turn off! Wow! Already a mile and a half

into the race and I was just feeling fine! I said goodbye and told him I

loved him and would see him at the finish line, and ran off.

I immediately picked up my pace somewhat. I was still too uncertain to

really push it. I've run that far before, but never in a race and I didn't

want to burn out too soon.

At the halfway mark I was feeling great. I realized I was no more fatigued

there than I had been when I left Roy so I put on a little more speed and

made my way from the back of the pack. I thanked all the traffic stoppers as

I ran through the intersections. (I think this annoyed other runners, but

hey they were standing there freezing making sure *I* didn't get squashed. I

appreciate that.) Some of the people on the street came out and applauded

and cheered. One family had their own water station set up and a sprinkler

going on mist for us to run through. How neat is that? At the beginning of

the race a lady came out on her balcony and looked down in surprise. She

called out, " What are you all running for? " Roy called back " Godzilla! "

someone else yelled " We're being chased! " We laughed and waved, she laughed

and waved, and we ran on.

When I hit 4 miles once again I realized I was still feeling awesome. I gave

it a little more juice. I also started thinking about making sure that I had

enough to finish the last two miles so I sucked down my Gu (and spilled some

on my shirt...that stuff is kind of icky looking). That actually DID give me

more energy so that I was able to finish really strong. I was waving at

people, running with a big grin on my face, looking like a fool but feeling

REALLY good. People around me were looking seriously pained. I felt bad for

them, but also felt encouraged as I passed and ran with people many years my

senior. I really CAN still run when I get older, if I want to.

The last turn off we passed a lot more of the city-folk cheering and calling

out. More than once someone said, " You just look too happy to be running! "

" You look like you're having a great time! " As we passed the last of the

traffic police and they said, " You're almost there! It's all downhill from

here! " I zoned in on who I was planning on passing, and put on the speed. It

was all downhill from there and this is the only point at which my body

knocked on my door and said " m...hello...um what the heck do you think

you're doing to us? " It was my knees. My knees do no like downhill. I

assured them we were almost done and they retreated a bit from their

complaints.

We came down a steep hill and into the stadium which is rubber. Ahhhh, my

knees were MUCH happier. Again someone said " You look TOO happy! " as I

bounded onto the track. I zoned in on my next victim, passed him, zoned in

on the next woman, passed her. I figured I might get the next person, but

not those last two guys. Well I passed them all. They were pretty darn

tired! Poor guys. As I crossed the finish line I noted my time, 58

something, and heard my name called out. They even pronounced it correctly!

I wasn't Tony or Troy or Kelmensten. Roy was at the end snapping pictures

and I ran up to him, hugged him and said " That was AWESOME! I swear I could

run another 6 miles! That was AWESOME! I want to do more 10ks from now on! "

A guy came up to me and said " Now that is the attitude I like to see! You

look like you had a GREAT time! Congratulations! " I just said, " If it isn't

fun, what's the point " and thanked him.

My time wasn't great, but it was less than a 10 min mile (which was my time

in my 5 mile race in April) so it was a good pace for a long distance

(relatively long distance). I placed 24th in my division and 58th overall.

I'm not sure how many people there were so I don't know if that's good or

bad. Probably good for a new runner. The two top females were from my

division (and won great prizes) so I know it wasn't great compared to them.

But the next division, which I will sadly enter on March 24 (40-49) had top

times that were really only 13-17 minutes better than my time, so I have

something to strive for. My 9.42 min mile average isn't winning any awards,

but I felt good about it. My total time for the race was 58:26.

I learned a few good things in this race. First of all, that I can do it. I

also learned that I like the longer distances. I feel like I have a lot of

time to hit my stride and feel the race. Sometimes with the 5ks I feel like

it's over just as about as soon as I start feeling really good about it. Up

until this one, my favorite race had been the five miler, and I think it is

because I just feel better at the longer distances. I also learned that hill

work pays off. On each hill I passed at least one person. I've been doing

hills when I get stuck on the treadmill, ran on hills in last week's race,

and have run the hills around Jennings Park a few times. I also learned the

trick to drinking and running is to spill out a little of the water on the

ground, fold the cup, and then suck through the fold so you don't choke.

Good lesson! (I choked on my first water stop.)

Most importantly, I learned that the half marathon is not a silly dream. I

can totally do it. I can even do a full, but not this year. My goal is the

half in November for sure (maybe even September), Whidbey Island marathon in

April, Seattle Marathon next November, and Disneyworld in 2006!

So now I have 3 weeks and 6 days until my first triathlon, 169 days until

the Seattle half marathon.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

Tory Klementsen, MCP A+

Career and Technology Educator

www.teechur.com

www.msteechur.com

-The successful person will do the things that the unsuccessful person will

not.

[Guest guest]

Awesome report, Tory! Your energy and excitement is inspiring!!!

April

[Guest guest]

Tory - I enjoy reading your race reports. I have been " running " (I am

really slow but since Bingham is my guru I try not to let it

bother me) for 3 years now and have done 5Ks, 10Ks and one half. I have

been beaten in a 4 mile race by an 84 year old and and 86 year old

(same guy, 2 years apart!) You are gonna love the feeling of

accomplishment when you finish the half! Your enthusiasm is contagious.

Kathy

On Sunday, June 13, 2004, at 04:42 PM, Tory Klementsen wrote:

> Today was my very first ever 10k race and I had a BLAST! I was so

> worried

> going in. I have no idea why, except maybe the bats from yesterday were

> still hanging around. I felt nauseous and cranky. (Fortunately I

> maintained

> because I hate stressing so much before a race, so I didn't want to

> add to

> it.)

>

> The weatherman said to not expect a single moment of dry weather

> today, so

> that was kind of a bummer. Every time we've had a race there has been

> rain

> in the forecast, and every time we've been blessed with at best sun

> and a

> cool breeze, and at worst overcast with no rain. It didn't look like

> today

> was going to cooperate. Right before we left, though, Roy came into the

> bedroom and said " Remember how it said rain all day? Look outside. "

> The sun

> was peeking through the clouds and while it was still overcast, it

> looked

> promising.

>

> We got there with plenty of time to register for the race. We picked

> up our

> bibs and timing chips. Roy switched from the 10k to the 5k. I had

> accidentally signed him up for the 10k and he wasn't ready for that

> yet. He

> wants to work on improving his 5k time. We looked at the course map and

> noticed that we could run together for the first mile and a half

> before the

> 5kers broke off and headed back in the loop.

>

> The course was well organized. All traffic was stopped on neighborhood

> streets, and traffic police were on all major city streets re-routing

> and

> directing traffic. Very nice! Nothing like playing dodge-car to throw

> you

> off your pace! The weather was holding. It was chilly, but no rain.

> Chilly

> for a long run is great. Rainy is not. Right before we were to line up

> I

> decided to go without my jacket and hat and just pop my Gu in my

> pocket. I'm

> glad I did because I was just right the entire race. Never too cold or

> too

> hot, and I would have been too hot with my jacket.

>

> We lined up in our pace groups. I didn't know what my 10k pace was so I

> chose 10/11 min mile. As we were lining up I ran into Angie Cartmill

> and we

> introduced each other to our running mates. We hugged, wished each

> other

> luck, and crawled back into our heads to prep for the race. Part of the

> competition was a costume competition where the top winner got two

> tickets

> to anywhere in the country on Alaska Airlines, so we were running with

> Nefertiti, Athena (it was the Everett to Athens race, after all), and

> a guy

> that had a box of twinkies attached to a pole in front of him, as well

> as a

> lot of other fun costumes.

>

> The air horn went off and we made it through the rather narrow chute.

> First

> leg was uphill but it was nothing like the viaduct in last week's

> race, so

> while others were huffing and puffing we were joking that this was

> easy. My

> first kilometer or so I was feeling wonky, but the bats were leaving

> and my

> stomach was settling. I convinced myself once again that I needed to

> go to

> the bathroom, but I didn't really. Before we knew it we were at 1k.

> Wow! I

> called out " ONE DOWN! NINE TO GO!! " and someone else called out " I

> love your

> attitude! " Right at that point I settled in and felt really good.

> That's

> what it's all about for me. Having fun, feeling pumped, and pumping up

> others. Roy and I ran together and chatted a little bit off and on and

> before we knew it, there was his turn off! Wow! Already a mile and a

> half

> into the race and I was just feeling fine! I said goodbye and told him

> I

> loved him and would see him at the finish line, and ran off.

>

> I immediately picked up my pace somewhat. I was still too uncertain to

> really push it. I've run that far before, but never in a race and I

> didn't

> want to burn out too soon.

>

> At the halfway mark I was feeling great. I realized I was no more

> fatigued

> there than I had been when I left Roy so I put on a little more speed

> and

> made my way from the back of the pack. I thanked all the traffic

> stoppers as

> I ran through the intersections. (I think this annoyed other runners,

> but

> hey they were standing there freezing making sure *I* didn't get

> squashed. I

> appreciate that.) Some of the people on the street came out and

> applauded

> and cheered. One family had their own water station set up and a

> sprinkler

> going on mist for us to run through. How neat is that? At the

> beginning of

> the race a lady came out on her balcony and looked down in surprise.

> She

> called out, " What are you all running for? " Roy called back " Godzilla! "

> someone else yelled " We're being chased! " We laughed and waved, she

> laughed

> and waved, and we ran on.

>

> When I hit 4 miles once again I realized I was still feeling awesome.

> I gave

> it a little more juice. I also started thinking about making sure that

> I had

> enough to finish the last two miles so I sucked down my Gu (and

> spilled some

> on my shirt...that stuff is kind of icky looking). That actually DID

> give me

> more energy so that I was able to finish really strong. I was waving at

> people, running with a big grin on my face, looking like a fool but

> feeling

> REALLY good. People around me were looking seriously pained. I felt

> bad for

> them, but also felt encouraged as I passed and ran with people many

> years my

> senior. I really CAN still run when I get older, if I want to.

>

> The last turn off we passed a lot more of the city-folk cheering and

> calling

> out. More than once someone said, " You just look too happy to be

> running! "

> " You look like you're having a great time! " As we passed the last of

> the

> traffic police and they said, " You're almost there! It's all downhill

> from

> here! " I zoned in on who I was planning on passing, and put on the

> speed. It

> was all downhill from there and this is the only point at which my body

> knocked on my door and said " m...hello...um what the heck do you think

> you're doing to us? " It was my knees. My knees do no like downhill. I

> assured them we were almost done and they retreated a bit from their

> complaints.

>

> We came down a steep hill and into the stadium which is rubber. Ahhhh,

> my

> knees were MUCH happier. Again someone said " You look TOO happy! " as I

> bounded onto the track. I zoned in on my next victim, passed him,

> zoned in

> on the next woman, passed her. I figured I might get the next person,

> but

> not those last two guys. Well I passed them all. They were pretty darn

> tired! Poor guys. As I crossed the finish line I noted my time, 58

> something, and heard my name called out. They even pronounced it

> correctly!

> I wasn't Tony or Troy or Kelmensten. Roy was at the end snapping

> pictures

> and I ran up to him, hugged him and said " That was AWESOME! I swear I

> could

> run another 6 miles! That was AWESOME! I want to do more 10ks from now

> on! "

> A guy came up to me and said " Now that is the attitude I like to see!

> You

> look like you had a GREAT time! Congratulations! " I just said, " If it

> isn't

> fun, what's the point " and thanked him.

>

> My time wasn't great, but it was less than a 10 min mile (which was my

> time

> in my 5 mile race in April) so it was a good pace for a long distance

> (relatively long distance). I placed 24th in my division and 58th

> overall.

> I'm not sure how many people there were so I don't know if that's good

> or

> bad. Probably good for a new runner. The two top females were from my

> division (and won great prizes) so I know it wasn't great compared to

> them.

> But the next division, which I will sadly enter on March 24 (40-49)

> had top

> times that were really only 13-17 minutes better than my time, so I

> have

> something to strive for. My 9.42 min mile average isn't winning any

> awards,

> but I felt good about it. My total time for the race was 58:26.

>

> I learned a few good things in this race. First of all, that I can do

> it. I

> also learned that I like the longer distances. I feel like I have a

> lot of

> time to hit my stride and feel the race. Sometimes with the 5ks I feel

> like

> it's over just as about as soon as I start feeling really good about

> it. Up

> until this one, my favorite race had been the five miler, and I think

> it is

> because I just feel better at the longer distances. I also learned

> that hill

> work pays off. On each hill I passed at least one person. I've been

> doing

> hills when I get stuck on the treadmill, ran on hills in last week's

> race,

> and have run the hills around Jennings Park a few times. I also

> learned the

> trick to drinking and running is to spill out a little of the water on

> the

> ground, fold the cup, and then suck through the fold so you don't

> choke.

> Good lesson! (I choked on my first water stop.)

>

> Most importantly, I learned that the half marathon is not a silly

> dream. I

> can totally do it. I can even do a full, but not this year. My goal is

> the

> half in November for sure (maybe even September), Whidbey Island

> marathon in

> April, Seattle Marathon next November, and Disneyworld in 2006!

>

> So now I have 3 weeks and 6 days until my first triathlon, 169 days

> until

> the Seattle half marathon.

>

>

>

> ~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'

> Tory Klementsen, MCP A+

> Career and Technology Educator

> www.teechur.com

> www.msteechur.com

> -The successful person will do the things that the unsuccessful person

> will

> not.

>

>

>

>

>