After the January 30 day challenge of clean eating and super focused working out, we issued ourselves the next Get Fit Challenge, to train for a 10k which we could complete with the April 6, 2013 Scotland Run! Well when we picked the race we certainly didn’t expect a 35 degrees morning and I actually planned to train for the race! Well… as luck would have it, the weather never got warm and I only ran outside once during our 6 week training period. And that one time was in 80 degree weather and for a mere 3 miles!
Needless to say, the race was a major challenge. Oh and did I mention my crazy allergies decided to act up all week, causing me to feel terribly ill. Saturday morning when my alarm went off at 5:17 am, the last thing I wanted to do was run a 6.2 mile race in 35 degree weather while battling my allergies. BUT… this is why we do challenges in a group! I had agreed to run with Jessica and Carly had agreed to run with me… we all knew we had to be there (accountability)! Our once large group of runners had dwindled down to the three of us and it worked out perfectly!
Top Pic is Carly, Jessica and I right after check in. (Cold) Bottom Left: Jessica and I as we walked to the starting line. (Still Cold) Bottom Right: Me on the couch, icing my knee (My Saturday afternoon activity!)
Carly runs 6 miles without blinking an eye, Jess runs it without issue and then there was me…lol. This was the first time I have run more than 3ish miles outdoors in over 10 years… I stopped running because I have terrible knee issues and yep, around mile 4, my knee gave out. Oh! I wanted to cry. I was running and thinking about what to do, how I would get through it with my knee killing me with every step and of course as I tried to compensate for my knee, my hip started hurting. I was a disaster but I kept telling myself people run many more miles than 6 with more significant issues so I needed to suck it up and keep going! (And my hand was too frozen to text for help… because I considered it). I also didn’t want to be the person who needed medical assistance on a 6 mile race. (Get it together, Kell!) So I did and although it was a hobble of a finish, I finished!
The oh so hilly Central Park Loop… the Scotland Race course!
By the time brunch was over, I was considering the next race. Although I know I am not going to run more than a 10k… I’m definitely down for running a much better 10k!
What I was reminded of by doing this challenge:
If I commit to running a race, I should train for it.
Teamwork, good friends and support is such a rewarding feeling.
You can do anything if you ignore all the barriers and obstacles and just do it!
Now… what should our next Get Fit Challenge be?!!
xoxo- Kellie
