Sunday, November 18, 2007

Lessons learned in a 15K

Yesterday I ran in a 15k race in Southern Arizona. I have always been a runner but a short distance runner. I am new to the long distance running thing. So I thought I would run the 15K yesterday in preparation for the half-marathon I am doing in February. It's intersting how many things I learned during this race.

1. The underwear I have does not work for long distance running (any suggestions?)
2. Going to bed at midnight and being up throughout the night with the baby without your husband there is not a good idea!
3. Getting up 45 minutes before you are supposed to register is not a good idea. I had to rush to get ready, rush to get the baby ready, rush to get there to get registered, and then the race started. I was mentally not ready nor was I warmed up.
4. Don't eat unhealthy food the day before the race.

I was definitely regretting these choices during the first 3 miles of the race. I was dead and really felt like I wanted to stop. But I pushed through it and after the 3rd mile I felt a lot better and ended up finishing under my goal time. But no doubt, I would have done much better during those frist 3 miles had I made some better choices the day before.

It was exciting though to finish my first "long distance" race!

14 comments:

Suzie Petunia said...

Congrats on your race, SeanandJess! (OK, can I just call you "Jess"? I assume "Sean" is your other half.) It is so hard to keep going when you just want to stop. I'm proud of you for continuing to put one foot in front of the other and not give in to that. You learned some really important lessons! I hope things go better for you next time now that you "know". :)

Polliwog said...

Yeah, I have done that on a training run. As the distance builds a 9, 10, or 11 mile run starts to feel like a short run. "No biggie," I would think the night before. But I came away from one of those with the mantra, "Respect the distance". Because 9 miles (or more) IS pretty long. It takes some forethought and prep. (Plus, I realized I sound like a &*$# when I say, "Oh I only have to run 9 tomorrow.")

Kelly(M&M) said...

Jess,

Congrats on your first "long distance" race! 15K is a great distance to learn from. That is wonderful that you made your goal time. One thing I have learned is to make more than one goal time. One that you would be happy with, and another one if everything went perfect. :-)

As far as the underwear, I really like the shorts with the built in liners. I never have problems with chafing with those.

Nutrition really is key. Try different types of food before your long runs and see what works for you. I really like a granola bar and banana in the morning. The night before I stick to the normal pasta. :-)

Good luck with the rest of your training! Are you joining us in Salt Lake?

Jessica said...

Yes you can just call me Jess or Jessica. I hope to be there in Salt Lake!

Ang said...

Hey Jess! Congrats on your first long distance race! I also like the built in undies. Also, I have found that the Jockey brand works well for me. I think they are just regular briefs. You kind of just have to do some trial and error until you get one that works. It is really good that you wrote down what you learned! I didn't do that the first time and then forgot the next time I had a race everything I wanted to do different.

Way to go!!

Holly said...

Big congrats on your first 15K!! That is something to be proud of for sure. Like the others have said, it's good to remember these lessons for your next event. As for undies, cotton is NOT your friend at all. Look for DriFit type materials. Title9.com sells sport undies. I like UnderArmour spandex type shorts with a loose fit short over. For me, this helps prevent chafing. I know it can get crazy with a little one, but if you can, lay your clothes and race supplies out the night before. Have your race bag packed and morning nutrition ready.

Hooray for you!

ellen said...

Jess?? what, how did you find this website?

Chelle said...

Congrats on your first race (the first of many more!) : )

Kelly(M&M) said...

Hi my friend, Ellen! I think I told Jess our connection, but maybe I didn't. Pretty random, eh? So, are you going to join us? :-)

Kelly(M&M) said...

Hi my friend, Ellen! I think I told Jess our connection, but maybe I didn't. Pretty random, eh? So, are you going to join us? :-)

Jessica said...

Hey Ellen! I found the site through Suzie petunia's blog which I found through Emily's blog.

JP said...

I love having other people ask the questions. Not only do I learn what other people are curious about...it just helps me TONS to know that there are some of us that still have TONS of questions!!

Way to go Jessica!!

Emily said...

ahhh, so suziepetunia already KNEW I was a blogstalker before i commented on her most recent post...how embarrassing.

ellen said...

well if running 2-3 miles a month qualifies me as a runner I could join you. :) I've totally quit