Last night, I completed my first 8K race.
(pause for a congratulatory woot! woot!)
It was the Rockville Rotary Twilight Runfest – or the Rockville Twilighter for short. 4.97 miles through an urban neighborhood, college campus and town center.
I did not train. I should have.
I tried but only managed to run once a week (rather than 3 times) and no more than 3 miles, if that.
And I’m feeling it today. Oh, boy, am I feeling it today. Stairs are not my friend.
I easily ran the first two miles – in light rain and on slick pavement – but got discouraged and walked the next hill. It didn’t help that the second mile marker intersected with the finish line, which runners were crossing at the time (24 minutes in)!
I kept going, mostly running, walking more hills. When I got to mile 4, I kept on running. I was determined to finish strong.
My running partner and I crossed the finish line in just under an hour (our goal) – 58:57!
The highlight for me was hearing my name called as a finisher. Got to love technology and electronic timing chips.
After the race, there was beer. Lots of beer. Four 16-oz beers per runner. I had two.
And there was food – lots of yummy treats (like Dunkin Donuts), most of which I could not eat because of food allergy restrictions. The watermelon, though, was the best I’ve ever tasted.
I’ll likely run this race again next year. It’s a fun change of pace running at night (although the recovery is a little harder — or maybe the lack of training is to blame).
Next up? Most likely the Women’s Distance Festival. Then the Color Run and the Rock N Roll 10K. I really need to train for that one.
Really.
Have you run an 8K? How’d it go?
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