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I signed up for the Grandma's Challenge, which includes a 5K and Half Marathon in a weekend back in October. This race has been on my bucket list for several years. One day I will run it in person but with the craziness of 2020 and with my work virtual option was the best for me. Initially I was going to run by myself but ended up telling a few friends then more and more people wanted to run. Before I knew it there were about 10 people that wanted to run. I was super excited and we made it a whole event. We started at my house, went around the lake and then back. It was a perfect half marathon route.
I really wanted to plan my race at the exact time as the in person but due to when the virtual races opened I had to rethink my plan. I decided to run my half on Saturday and the 5K the next day. Race day came and was super excited. Since it’s been a few months since I last raced I was a little worried I may have forgot items needed for my virtual run but I didn’t. I looked at the weather before we started, it was about 69 degrees and the humidity was around 80. At that point I knew it was going to be a hard race. I made a decision to take it slower at the beginning and then reevaluate it half way through. The temps got more warm each hour. Luckily I have the best friends and we had several water stops, which was really needed. I under estimated how much water we would need. The first six miles went buy really fast. We had fun talking and just getting some early miles. Once I hit ten miles I hit a wall, the sun was out, humidity was rising along with the temperatures. I was feeling it and wanted to walk. I made the decision to take it interval by interval. Focusing on how my body felt and kept drinking water. The last mile was the hardest, I was tired and hungry by this time and wanted to be done. It reminded me that every race is different and this sport is relentless. I’m amazed at what my body is out through and it continues to still let’s me run. I was so happy.
I woke up early on Sunday excited to finish this challenge. I really wanted to put everything out on the road but with a 5K race and another 3 miles coaching after I didn’t know what my body would do. I decided to run with friends and we were running about 12 min miles the first mile. We hit our turn around at about 1.58 miles. I decided to turn on the fire, I increased my speed and clocked 11 mins the second mile. Then I was like let’s do this. I was aiming for sub 10, ended up clocking 10 mins and .06 seconds. I finally finished and was happy with what I accomplished. I had no music and was basically on my own. I reflected on the last two days and was happy that I participated in this virtual and thankful to the race for letting me do this in OKC. It made my experience great to be with friends and be able to enjoy a race before my coaching starts. I can’t wait for the swag and the medals to come. I already cleared space for it and it will look great with my current collection. If you have a chance definitely register for this race. I’m hoping to be there in person next year.
