Go the Distance 10K Re-cap

   Yay, I am done the Go the Distance 10K! And if I don't want to, I never have to do it again! (but I suspect I will)

The "before" pic.

    If you've been reading along lately, you know that I've been having quite a bit of trepidation about this morning's race here in London. It was my first 10K and the training leading up to it had been almost non-existent. I also had the very realistic fear of coming in dead last.
   Well, although I started dead last (self-fulfilling prophecy?), I didn't finish dead last, so, in that regard, the race was successful.

The race started just adjacent to Budweiser
Gardens, home of this year's Memorial Cup.

  It was an absolutely gorgeous morning here in London and this buoyed my spirits as Doralyn and I headed downtown. The race followed an out-and-back course which took us from downtown London along city streets til eventually we got to the river and just followed it. This was one of the nice parts for me because this got me back on trails I'd done a fair bit of running on back in the endless winter.
  

Covent Garden Market, where the
racers gathered. Pretty cool place,
if you ever wanna visit!

I did start out dead last; I tend to line up near the back at the starting line and as the race began I took a look behind me and...no-one! My plan had been to run at my marathon (giggle) pace and let the chips fall where they may but it was a little discouraging to know that a couple of hundred people were watching my sad ass marching down King Street in last place, with the rest of the runners slowly pulling away so I cranked it up a notch, just to keep up.
   About half a kilometer along, I came up behind a woman who had already slowed down almost to a walk. I passed her with an encouraging word and immediately felt better--I had the feeling I no longer had my "last place" issues to deal with and, all of the sudden, just started to enjoy myself.
   Along the way, I passed a couple more people. Right off the bat, I had noticed this older woman running up ahead and flash-backed to my last race where I got beat out by this seventy-year-old lady speedwalker. This lady today might even have been the same lady, wasn't sure, but I was wary! We did this "you pass me, I pass you" thing for awhile and at one point, as it was her turn to pass me she said "You're not going to let yourself lose to a 77-year-old woman, are you?" I laughed out loud and told her that was exactly my strategy!


Yay!

   Walk breaks were plentiful and the last kilometer was slightly uphill and a bit of a killer but then...it was done! It felt so good to get this 10K out of the way and not have to worry about it anymore. As well, it means I can just get out and run for fun again without the feeling that I'm "training" for something in particular. The next race up is a 5K and that's gonna feel like coming home!