So yesterday Katie and i ran the Girls on the Run 5k and it wasn't the most pleasant experience. The weather was overcast, pleasantly cool, a little breezy (i was comfortable, Katie was cold until about 1/3 of the way through the run when she took off her hoodie. i made the mistake of leaving my cellphone with Mom, so i didn't have any concept of time or real concept of distance throughout the run. i haven't walked so much in a long time. My second wind didn't kick in until the last half mile of the run at the earliest. We ran most of the way, but the concrete and asphalt really bothered her arches, the hills really bothered my lungs. (: Both of us hadn't gotten enough rest the day before.
So i've been thinking about it, and i think most of my problems were psychological. Trying to run while surrounded by people is not at all conducive to being able to relax and focus on breathing. It was a challenge to run with people because they might cut me off, might be running too slowly in front of me, i was wondering if i was running too fast when i was passing them, etc. Plus i'm not used to running with a partner, and i felt like i was holding Katie back, but at the same time i didn't feel as if i could run any faster. i think a big part of my problem was that most Saturdays i stand on my feet all day and don't exercise at all, i wasn't familiar with the course and couldn't really let myself know where the halfway point was, and it was probably largely psychological. Somehow my body knows that when my mind says halfway done that it can let go of some more energy and the adrenaline kicks in. So it was a pretty miserable run, but i'm hoping that i'll feel as good (hopefully even better) during the Triathlon (which means after swimming and biking).
The beginning of the race consisted in standing in the middle of a crowd, chatting with a friend of my mother's, and then trying not to run over others or be run over after the race started. We walked a lot at the beginning waiting for the ranks to thin out so we could actually run. The last few hundred feet of the "race" consisted in standing in line so they could record what order we passed the finish line in and our "time" (which is going to be at least five minutes after when we stopped running because we had to just stand there so long). Then it took us another ten-fifteen minutes to find our parents, aunt, and sisters. So i think we finished the run in about 35 minutes, which isn't bad, but it certainly felt like forever, and it felt like it was all uphill. As i said, conditions alternated between asphalt parking lot/street and sidewalks with uneven grass or dirt on the shoulder. i tried to stay off the concrete as much as possible, but for the last half mile or so i didn't want to risk turning an ankle in the grass. i hate running on concrete, but at least it's even, and it was a lot less taxing than last time i had tried it (i don't know that i've lost weight, but i know that i've lost fat and gained muscle).
Today i rode my bike about 12 miles. The odd thing is that my biking has improved a lot but i think it's still my weakest event. i'm starting to get used to shifting but still look to make sure i turned it the right way. My arms didn't get tired today, even though i leaned on them more, but my hands did halfway through (luckily no cramps this time though). The reason i'm wondering about how psychological my second wind is: exactly halfway through my bike ride i got my second wind.
i'm almost halfway through my triathlon training now, and have come so far, but i can see that i still have a long way to go if yesterday was any indicator. Last year, there were less than 600 girls at the Girls on the Run 5k; this year, they said 1200 registered. All i can say is, wow.
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