Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Mount Everest of 10Ks

This morning Chase and I ran the Green Valley Association 9th Annual 10K Run and 5K. This is the first time he has ever run a race with me, so it was great to have him with me! He ran the 5k and I ran the 10k. All I have to say about this race is HOLY HILLS!


Source


Seriously, I ran up and down at least 15 hills. That is a LOT for a 6.2 mile run. To be honest, it was DREADFUL.


I went from this:


To this in a mere 51:27 minutes:




I think the fact that the course was INSANE coupled with my complete and utter dehydration (I was super unintelligent and did not drink more than a cup of water this morning as we were rushing out the door to get to the race). 


However, as I was bemoaning every stride, I think a part of me fell back in love with running. The course, while hellacious, was also amazingly beautiful. And as I was panting in misery, it made me keenly aware of how blessed I am to have a body that is capable of running. Running is a gift, and I do not want to take it for granted. By the same token, our bodies are also gifts and we need to take care of them and not run them ragged. In the past I have been awful at listening to what my body needs and just forcing it to perform. I think it is time to progress past this frame of mind, and instead choose to savor each run, but also enjoy rest when need be. 


Now, I am going to let my body rest. And join my running buddy in some serious re-hydration!




Are you good at listening to your body or do you tend to ignore the signs it tries to send you? How can you be more kind to your body?
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4 comments:

  1. katie @KatieDidSeptember 10, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    woooo awesome race! Glad you could dig deep and appreciate what your capable of despite how you were probably feeling.
    I'm good at listening to my body. I take rest days whenever I feel like it, and I've really stopped most cardio except leisure walks and bike rides which are enjoyable and not very draining. And I think by starting to lift more and cut down on cardio was a good choice for my body :)

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    Way to go girlie! You didn't stop with all those hills! (pretty sure I would have thought about it! ;) )
    I am not the best at listening to my body. I swear that I am always having a brain/body mix up on what I should do for me. Hopefully I figure it all out very soon though!

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  3. SamanthaSeptember 13, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Great job!!! I am awful at running hills. Please tell me that first photo is not an actual photo of where the race was, if so, you rock! That looks super tough and makes my legs hurt just thinking about it!

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  4. PaleoRunnerGirlSeptember 13, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    Haha! The first photo is an artistic rendering. But it truly was not far from the truth. Those hills were KILLER!

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