I literally cannot help myself

March 24, 2016 by Laura 1 Comment

I posted a week ago that I couldn’t do another race until I actually prepped for it. I’d signed up for one in June, and I thought that was plenty of time to get ready (since it’s another quarter marathon, and I’ve done two this year with no prep).

Then the very next day, I signed up for a race that happened last Saturday. I can’t help myself!

This one was only a 5k, so I felt ok about it (since it’s less than half the distance of the one I did in February), even though I haven’t run at all. It was at a state park less than an hour away from me, but I’d never been there before, so the course/terrain was unknown. I asked a friend who grew up in the area if it was hilly, and she reassured me that it was definitely not hilly. I was feeling pretty good about it the night before.

I text her after the race. “What the hell?! No effing hills? The entire park is made of hills!!” Seriously, there were more ups and downs than in the HUFF, which was more than three times as long. Up and down and up and down and up and up. It ended with a never-ending flight of stairs.

This one was rough for me. I think part of it was that the course was so unfamiliar. The others have been at a park I frequent, so I know the course very well. It was also very hilly (let’s be real, they weren’t major hills, but they felt like it to me). I was near the back of the pack for most of the race. It was only in the last mile that I was able to pass anyone. I was super happy to pass the 9-year-old running with his dad and the guy who power walked the whole thing. When I managed that, I wasn’t going to let them pass me back. No sir. I was going to finish with some dignity.

This one didn’t hurt the knee too much, but it sure made me realize I need to actually work out to get in shape. Right now, I generally resemble the shape of a couch potato.

Oh, and I signed up for another 5k the first weekend in April. I can’t be trusted.