It wasn't the finish line that mattered

So, last Sunday (yes, over 1 week ago) I raced in the 10Km race. The weather was about 1 inch from horrid. It was raining all around us but we lucked out with just a severe wind warning and a little spitting. The sun even poked out a few times. The run felt great, it wasn't too cold or too warm. The wind was only right in my face for about 2-3 Km of the 5Km loop. I finished with a time of just less than 1 hour 4 minutes... which is what I 'verbally' hoped for. Quietly, my brain hoped to get 1 hour or less but I knew I'd have to run like I've never run before. So that's it, it's over. Goal accomplished.

I've read before that it's not the race that people find most rewarding but rather the training. Only now do I understand. I worked hard to make it to 10Km and then I worked harder to improve my speed. I'm proud of myself for finishing something. I feel really good, in body and in mind. It wasn't my performance last Sunday that made me feel so proud, it was the 30 runs I put in before the race.

Onward I go. I'm going to train for a half marathon on March 4th, 2007. This is another hurdle that today seems HUGE. A few days before the 10Km race I started to wonder if I was doing something wrong... it seemed like this was too easy, that I'd been doing something wrong in the training and somehow I'd fooled myself that I could be ready for this. I want to feel this way again, I want to "be ready" for a half marathon.

Here are a couple of pictures of my half half-marathon.