Run through History 10k

I feel kind of guilty for not posting about this weekend’s 10k. Frankly, between being off for Mardi Gras, trying to get lecture notes together, working on two research projects (plus some side ones that Must. Get. Done.), and dealing with this IT project in which I’m sure my husband thought (thinks?) I lost my mind…yeah, it feels like it’s been longer than just a few days.

Kelsey and I ran the Run through History 10k in Vicksburg, Mississippi. If you’re not familiar with the area, let me warn you: there are hills (or small mountains, depending on your point of view). We knew this, and, thankfully, our home town is flooded with rolling hills, so we got ample practice.

My husband and dad also decided to walk the 5k route (it was specifically in the rules that you could only WALK the 5k; no running allowed). So we woke up before dawn last Saturday and drove to Vicksburg for this fun but problem-plagued race.

Problem No. 1: Injury

Our biggest challenge was Kelsey’s knee. Kelsey has had three (yes, THREE) ACL surgeries on her knees. And, yes, she ran a half-marathon. She’s completely hard core. However, after the half-marathon, she began having some serious knee pains. She was naturally and rightfully nervous about her knee, which started giving her trouble before we hit Mile 1. Yep, more than 5 to go. But she pushed through, and we ran the majority of the race with a time of 1:10:07, which is pretty awesome, considering…

Problem No. 2: Rain

You know, at times all you can say is, “At least it’s not raining cats and dogs.” That’s about as good as it got for us. It started raining around Mile 2 and stayed til a little after Mile 3. Sadly, I didn’t even notice when it stopped raining. I was drenched (oh, and yes, I did go shopping afterward. Got a ton of new stuff, haha!!). As long as it’s not cold, I don’t mind running in the rain, and it was a comfortable temperature. The only major problem the rain caused was making it hard for my contacts.

Problem 3: Registration

I am the anti-procrastinator. I really am. I hate putting stuff off to the last minute. HATE it. My idea of something being late is, for example, having a paper done three days before it’s due. That makes me nervous.

So I signed up for this March race in January. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the YMCA (who hosted the event) hosts lots of events – such as a race in January that was held five days after they received my check. So guess which race they signed me up for? Yep.

I talked with the race director and explained my situation, and he was very accommodating. He fixed my registration problem…or so I thought.

First off, on the day of the race, we had to sign my dad up. My dad, who completed this rainy walk in jeans because that’s what he walks in. Jeans. Even in the summer (and usually with Puddin’!). Thankfully, one of Dad’s co-workers signed him up about 10 minutes before we arrived, so we didn’t have to worry about him.

Unfortunately, no one could seem to find mine and Kyle's registration forms.

I was a bit frustrated by this point because I felt like we were late (it was 30 minutes before the race, see five graphs above), but, thankfully, the YMCA workers said it wasn’t a problem and handed me and Kyle a race shirt, bib number, and timing chip. In other words, they rock.

Overall, this was a great race. I actually LIKED the hills (to which Kelsey said I had a problem), and running through the Civil War Park was fun.

I actually don’t have any other races lined up right now. Shocking, isn’t it? I’m not sure what to do. I feel kind of at a loss, but it’s nice at the same time. Like, for instance, on Tuesday, I was supposed to run six miles. After 3, I was tired, I was cranky, and I felt like I was running behind (I wasn’t – I finished 3 miles in 31 mins), so I stopped. I just did 3. Why? Because I got to thinking, “What am I training for?”

However, don’t get deluded into thinking running is going away. I’m running five today, six tomorrow. Maybe some on Sunday.

I do like to run.