Friday, December 28, 2012

February 10k - Walk Like the Wind

Ah February, what should be the hibernating months here in the DC area, was just pleasant. Even Mother Nature was cooperating with my goal. If I could get races in the cold winter months, then the summer should be easy peasy. So this was the month of the rooky move. I sign up for and paid for a race I wasn't even going to be in town for. Oops.


Finding a race in February that wasn't on Valentine's day weekend was not easy. I hemmed and haaed about doing a 10k. really twice the distance as last month? I would be run/walking marathons by July at this rate! Plus all I had was myself and my treadmill, no real idea what I was doing, other then knowing I was SLOW. Any rate, I was spending the weekend most races were held in the Dominican Republic with my sorority sisters celebrating turning 40. I have never taken a girls weekend like this one before (all inclusive yea!) and wasn't going to miss it. The good news about the trip was it motivated me to move my behind. I have some healthy, athletic friends and I was going to be lying on the beach next to them. Yes, that motivated me!



Back to the race, it was a cold day, but not as cold as the original race I signed up for (see lying on beach). The George Washington Birthday 10k was it. The only other race I could see doing logically. It was a nice race, located in Alexandria and you waited for the start inside. I was beginning to suspect I would see people I knew at these smaller winter races and I was right. All of the sudden I run into someone I work with. Really? Nice guy, I didn't really know him that well at the time of the race, but he has become a good friend.

The race itself is basically out and back this industrial road, starting and ending over an overpass. It is nicer then it sounds. I started at the back of the pack, as I always do and started to jog. Well, that worked for about .25 of a mile. Seriously. I just couldn't get going. But if I know anything it is that I can walk fast. So that is what I did. I walked the whole thing in 1:23:23. That is a pace of 13:25 and not all that shabby. I was flying on cloud nine and felt like if I could walk 6 miles, then I could conquer anything this goal had to throw at me. And there is where the trouble began.....

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