I am a challenged lady

I did it! I ran my first 10km race. And I survived it. ## *And* I even enjoyed it! *clap* *clap*

My fit friend started with this race last year, and I thought she was 'loco', and yet a year later, here I am also doing it.

The Spar Ladies Challenge was a pretty good race to start with as a beginner, I think.

For starters the goodie bag is awesome. I got a heap of things from soap, to washing powder, energy drinks, vitamins, a magazine and sweeties (very imporant!), oh and er rice!? It also had a muchos grande purple t-shirt (a smaller size would have been nicer, but as they say 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth' - it may have stinky breath!). It felt like Christmas getting that mysteriously heavy bag of loot and taking it home to see what delights it yielded. Somehow getting free stuff is exciting to me. Even if it's crap. Pretty lame - but there you go.

Then the race started and ended at Sahara Park Newlands, which is a few km from my home. So it's my turf which I know well - and it's not too hilly.

Also the field is big and diverse and it's by no means just serious athletes, so not matter what your fitness level you fit in.

Finally it has a sane and humane start time of 8am. None of this ridiculous 6am nonsense!

So all the factors added up favourably.

I somehow managed to exercise every day last week. I did a 3km treadmill run and kata box on Monday, yoga on Tuesday, an 8km road run on Wednesday, a 4km treadmill run and kata box on Thursday, Tai Chi on Friday, and a 7km run on Saturday morning. The result was that my left thigh was pretty sore by Sunday morning, and I realised I should have rested it a bit during the week.

<- The pic is one of me after a run in June.

So I arrived on Sunday feeling a bit stiff and tired already. Great start! Since we would be running almost right past my house I told myself I could just go home if it all went horribly wrong. ;) Nothing like going into something already imagining giving up... So after a loooong wait in the pre-race toilet queue, giving up and then serendipitously finding a free loo just in time, we headed to the start line, with the other 10000 or so people that were there. There was no getting near the front, but I wasn't going to stress about it. I was there to have fun. My goals were 1) To finish, and to stay running for as long as I could, but walking if necessary and 2) To TRY to finish in 70 minutes or under.

So the starting gun was fired and we stood. There was nowhere we could move to until the people ahead of us cleared. It took a few minutes of standing and walking before we were able to start a slow jog and start dodging and weaving through the crowd. I spent a lot of time leaping up and down pavements, darting around poles and people and on verges (the x-country events were useful!). After heading down into the dip and then starting the ascent up Keurboom road for the first rise it got easier to pass a lot of people and start a proper running pace. I ran with my friend for the first 2km or so, but told her she was free to go at her own pace and didn't need to wait for me, and I wasn't going to push too hard to stay with her. She stayed just ahead of me for quite some time. I was expecting to get an energy surge and catch-up at some point, but I never did.

The first refreshment stop served coke, I decided to have some, as after no breakfast I thought a sugar boost could be helpful. We passed near my house at about the 3.5km mark. No family waiting and waving for me :/- but then it was too early for Richard and I don't think he even knew we'd be running right there. I made it up the hill towards the common, which is usually the first km of my own runs, and I went right past the second refreshment stop - still clutching my packet of water from the first pit-stop. I tend to clutch them for moral support of something! At the half way point I last saw my friend still about 50m ahead of me, so I was keeping pace well. But at about 5.5km I decided to stop and do a quick walk as my legs were feeling a bit tired. I walked for 50 meters or so and drank may now warm water and then got going again. That ended up being the only time a walked the whole way. I realised I had gone past the half way point and just had to finish the circuit of the common and head down past Quinn's school back to the stadium. All flat and very familiar ground to me. That helped, so despite feeling a bit tired in the legs I kept on plodding along and finally got to the stadium and finsh line at 58 minutes! I finished in under an hour even with the slow start. I really wasn't expecting that. YAY!!!

This is the route we ran.

My legs felt sore and stiff and tired for 5 or 10 minutes and then felt fine again. Today my calves are a bit stiff, but are not really sore at all.

This morning while driving to work along our running route I noticed I sign I didn't see yesterday saying, 'Run hot mammas' LOL. That made me chuckle.

## Sadly I have no photographic evidence. So You'll just have to believe me.