Some Thoughts on Completing My First 10K

Yesterday morning, I ran my first 10K ever! Like I mentioned in this post, I’d been meaning to run a 10K for a while, so when I found out last Tuesday that there was one happening in Sacramento over the weekend for only $30, I decided to sign up. I didn’t train at all– I hadn’t even worked out in a couple weeks! I just signed up on a whim because this is something I’ve been wanting to do, so I decided to finally do it.

Because I didn’t train at all, the run was tough. After the third mile, it started to feel really long. And don’t even get me started on all the unexpected hills I encountered! (I learned that running uphill makes my knees hurt.) But I managed to push through the challenges. I ended up finishing the race in 1:07:16 and placed 24th in my gender/age category, which is way better than I thought I would do considering I didn’t train. I was hoping to finish the race in under 1:10:00, so that time worked for me.

Even though my legs are killing me today, I’m so happy I finally ran a 10K. Running a 10K is a big deal, and I’m proud of myself for doing so. Plus, completing that 10K yesterday has inspired me to challenge myself by running more 10K’s in the future instead of staying comfortable in 5K World.

I feel like I’m now one step closer to running a half-marathon someday (one of my Life List items) and becoming a real runner. Since I actually enjoy running, I’ve always felt like I have the potential to be an actual runner; I just need to be more proactive about getting there. I’d say running that 10K yesterday was a huge step in the right direction.

What did you do this weekend? What’s a goal you’ve accomplished lately?