What were you all doing on thanksgiving morning? Probably hung over or dreaming of the big dinner you were going to have later that day. Not me. I was thinking about my first race I was about to run since being back from Europe. It was just over three weeks since my marathon, and only 3 days since my first run. Here I was lining up at the start line of yet another race. My biggest fear was how my legs would hold up. I knew that my lungs would have been fine, but my legs. They were going to torture me, I knew it. So here is a recap of the race:
Mile 1
Ha! Just kidding. This was only a 5K, a 20 minute run. It went by too quickly for me to think about documenting it over three days worth of blogs. Plus, the whole time I was thinking about how my legs really didn’t hurt that bad. I managed to hold up a pretty good pace throughout the race. My legs weren’t torturing me at all, my confidence was. Here is the lesson for the day: running is about 90% mental. Because I was so afraid of my legs holding me back from a good race, I let myself talk them into not going any faster than I was comfortable doing. And being my first race back, I didn’t feel comfortable going very fast at all.
I finished in an average time, for me, 21:53. I placed in the top 50 for women, and in the top 200 of total runners. Not bad for the first race back, but secretly (not anymore) I had hoped to surprise myself.
The first run back after a marathon is like… well, like your first run. I remember my first cross country practice. I came to practice in some Fila tennis shoes, thinking they were good enough running shoes because they were the sportiest shoes I had. I was doing the short run, which was about a 10 minute warm-up, stretch, and then a 10 minute run back to school. I didn’t “know” how to run, so I put one foot in front of the other, stared down at my shadow, and curled my arms up in fear that I might look like I don’t know how to run. I couldn’t quite get a steady rhythm. My legs were running a muck and my breathing, oh man, I felt like I was blowing out candles but had to do it only breathing out my nose. I thought that if I had to breathe in and out of my mouth that people would know that I didn’t know ho to run. About 2 minutes into the run, I was breathing heavily, dragging my feet, and wanting to give up. That seems like just yesterday.
Wait, it was. I ran for the first time this week, and felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. I tried to run faster than my last few miles of the marathon, but who knows if I really was. Probably not. I ran, did the usual run stuff. I even timed it! But it was awkward and ended up being a rude awakening. It was gonna take time until I got back into it.
Erin Here, in Dublin. Yes, I know, i still cannot believe it either. I was at the Guinness Storehouse drinking a fresh pint, looking down at the city of Dublin, and thought to myself, “Wow! I am in Dublin. How did I get here?” The truth is, I got here with a crazy idea (which happened to be my own- a big deal for me) and the help of many of you. Sorry for the shortness, but thank you for everything, and stay tuned for more international blogs, and the results from my race!
Erin go Run!
Objective: To participate in an international marathon (Dublin), to improve my time from previous races, and to gain better understanding and knowledge of other cultures.
Experience:
Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon January 14, 2007
Time: 3:27:15
San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon June 3, 2007
Time: 3:40:28
Previous Positions:
University of San Diego 2002-2006
Team captain 2004-05
Temecula Valley High School 1998-2002
Team captain 2000-01
Additional Skills:
Proficient in running long distances, pacing, perspiring, acclimating to different running conditions
