Running is one the best solutions to a clear mind - Sasha Azevedo

Drumroll.........

This week I ran my first ever 10 km !

Applause

I run on a relatively regular basis. Usually a +/- 5 km tour on a concrete path winding through fields behind our house. After a while, I noticed the wish for something new and looked up some running events nearby. I did not want to start out with a real competition immediately, but something different to measure myself by. There is a 'fun' run end of August where you can choose between a 5K or 10K run.

I decided to participate and do the 5K.

As the run came nearer, the 10K figure kept looming in the background. Never having run 10K before however, I was very skeptic whether I could actually make that distance. I am always quite happy and satisfied after 5K. No need to add frustration to my new sport.

On Monday I ran my usual 5K tour and on Wednesday I just decided to go for a 10K tryout. I wouldn't know until I tried. And if I got tired along the way I could still just walk home.

Funny enough I hit a first hard stretch 20 minutes into the run, which is normally the time when things start to get easy during my 5K run. I figured it was just psychological. 20 min means I'm about halfway in my 5K run. Here I knew I still have much more to go. But I kept running and taking it easy. It was also a completely new route to me, running-wise anyway. It was raining a bit in the beginning, so I was wearing my rain gear. Then the sun came out and I was getting too warm. In the end I was happy I put it on though: better too warm then cold.

There were a few stretches that I had to walk. I am not so good at running uphill :-)

After a while though, my legs became a sort of machine and even my breathing seemed completely superficial and the notion of it almost disappeared. I never experienced that during a 5K run.

I was elated to arrive home and see that I had done the 10K in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Wayhayyyyyy!!!!

So I think I will definitely try to run the 10K during that fun run.