10K in 1:15:31.6

I did it!

Racing day was this morning -- 10 km in and around the Toronto Zoo. It was cold, I was nervous and even though in training I never managed to actually run a full 10K, I figured I could do it in about 80 minutes.

I did in 75.

The first kilometre felt pretty good and just flew by. I was amongst the huge pack of runners still and in all honestly, I was still a) nervous and b) wondering why the hell I wanted to do this in the first place. I mean, did I mention it was only 1C at start time?

After that, it got a little easier and a little harder. The runners thinned out and I felt like I was tiring out already. So, I had to switch my mindset from 'why the hell am I doing this' to 'I can do this'. And the next thing I knew, I was rounding the 3K marker and feeling a lot better about the whole thing.

The next few kilometres were fairly easy, and fairly downhill, which is what made it easy. Because anyone who knows the zoo even a little bit knows it ain't flat.

It was at the halfway point that Ryan and the kids went into cheering squad mode. And it was well-timed, as I really needed it then.

At the 5K mark

And then, before I knew it, I was running up the big hill just after the halfway point and flying past the 6, 7 and 8 kilometre mark before forcing myself to take a short walking break for fear of burning out and not being able to finish standing up.

Suddenly, at the 9K, it became easy. A renewed sense of energy hit me and I actually sped up and started passing other runners. As I rounded the final corner towards the finish line, my cheering squad was waiting for me. And with the finish line in sight, Austin ran by my side (or more like several feet behind me) to cross the line with me.

I was near the back of the pack -- with only 152 runners behind me. But I don't care. I finished. And I finished in 1:15:31.6.

Me and Austin coming up at the finish line

It's been 10 months since I had the crazy notion to run a 10K race, and it was a day I won't soon forget. My legs are sore, my brain is tired and I'm already getting the crazy notion of running another one next May.