In Workout Week posts I will tell you everything about my last week’s workouts.
Monday morning started with a regular walk with my dog. The weather was cool, windy and rainy. In the evening I debated whether to go running or cycling. Decided to go cycling again. It was a generally nice ride but I did get some rain in the last 10 minutes. And it started to get really cold. I should really invest in some long workout leggings…
Tuesday was again an official rest day. That means an hour long walk for me. My knee still hurt from falling on Saturday so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. Plus we got a seriously strong rainshower during the last 15 minutes of our walk. I had to squeeze my sweater to get all the water out, my sneakers needed a whole day to dry.
Wednesday was Zumba day. We did about half an hour of dancing and then added some muscle exercises for legs, back and abs. And ofcourse I did my regular doggy-walking for half an hour.
On Thursday the crappy weather continued but it cleared up by evening. In the afternoon I did a regular walk, in the evening decided to go for my first run after Narva Energy Run. I thought I was fast and I was: 8 km/h. That’s fast for me although it might be slow for a lot of people.
Friday surprised me with gorgeous weather, it was nice, warm and sunny. But still autumnal. Did a walk with my dog and in the evening jumped on my bicycle. A regular hour of cycling.
Saturday I had to go shopping because I needed long running tights (yay!) and school supplies (not so yay). Found some Nike tights for only 33€ and an Adidas jacket for 23€, so I couldn’t leave that behind. I cycled to the city and back, about 35 minutes in total. In the evening did a 30 minute walk with my doggy.
Sunday was running day. Somehow my legs were total jello and I felt like a snail. But I did not stop or walk so I can be proud. Plus I ate dinner only an hour before workout so I felt the food in my stomach. You should have at least 2 hours between eating and working out. Not a good running day at all.
In total:
3 hours 30 minutes walking
2 hours 30 minutes cycling
30 minutes Zumba
30 minutes muscle exercises
2 hours of running
It was a good week: 9 hours of moving, no muscle or nerve pain (only my knee and elbow hurt from falling last Saturday) and new workout clothes.
Narva Energy Run 2013 was my first ever sports competition. I was never the person to do sports, not even to talk about paying to do sports or pay to compete. But last Saturday I was competing against about a thousand runners (plus another thousand who didn’t have their time measured) on the 7K distance in Narva Energy Run.
As many of you might know if you follow my Workout Week posts, I really didn’t have specific plan for the 7K since I run that about twice a week anyway and do other sports 3 times a week. If I was running half-marathon, I wouldn’t go without a plan but this wasn’t that big. And it was my first race so I didn’t have any expectations really.
Some days before the race I felt the nerves kicking in a little bit. The night before they started to get kind of annoying. 😀
After my last workout before the race on Thursday
You can read about what I ate the day before here. The evening before the race I had a sharp flash of sciatic pain in my buttock once. That made me even more nervous.
On Saturday I got up at 8 AM. Washed, got dressed and then decided to take a regular 30 minute walk with my dog. The weather was nice, normal temperature and no rain.
Perfect weather
We were about half way done with our walk when I decided to make a few running steps. We have done that a million times before. But this time something went wrong. After about 10 metres of jogging with my dog, somehow I found myself on the tarmac. The more I started to fall, the more the dog started to pull me and I was on the ground. My wrist, elbow and knee were bleeding. I just couldn’t believe that. “How do those things happen to me?”, I could only think.
Knee patch on, ready to go. Not really.
I was so angry with myself. Why did I have to jog?! Why? I started crying (I don’t cry like ever) and was really upset. My knee and elbow hurt, my knee was really bad. I walked home but was still really upset that my first race experience was ruined.
I cleaned my wounds and found something to cover them with. They hurt. I was upset. My family started running around crazy and I was even more upset. I tried to be calm again. Had some water and breakfast (some LCHF cheesecake). Then we had to hit the road to Narva. My mom, dad and brother and then… a miserable me.
We picked up my friend from Jõhvi. Pretty much the first thing she asked me was why I was so sad. I only showed her my elbow and started crying. I still only thought that my first race is ruined. Ruined.
We reached Narva about 10.45 AM. Parked the car, saw the start of the half marathon, got our numbers and other stuff and gave away my backpack. There was plenty of time so we walked around and also got a body analysis for free. The results were a little off, though. I’m going to get that analysis again in September.
First runners in the half-marathon start
So 45 minutes after noon there was a little warm up, I met some old acquaintances and then it was already 1 PM and start time. I didn’t rush, just did what I normally do on my 7K runs.
The weather was HOT. And the sun was shining. I wished it was a little cooler, that would have helped a lot. The people were nice though and it was a new experience to run with 2000 other people.
People walking. Photo by my brother
5K was the drinking point. I got a little water and kept going. Then a small insect got to my eye. Fortunately I got it out and that didn’t cause any other troubles for me. I felt my knee patch coming off, the wrist patch was already off and the elbow patch was long gone.
Before the 6K point a car wanted to join our running lane. Didn’t get hit. Considering the whole day, that was an accomplishment.
Already the finish line approached. Last little climb uphill. Last 100 metres. I sprinted to the finish line! People cheered. I did it. Happy.
Got a sportsdrink. Then I looked at the label: almost 6 grams of carbs per 100 grams. So the bottle was more than my daily norm. Thanks, but no thanks. Got my own water from my backpack and did some stretches. My knee patch was almost off so I got a new one from the medics. But my skin was sweaty so it started coming off almost immediately.
Then I saw my family reach the finish line. The race was over.
We took some pictures, my mom took photos of the rewarding ceremony and we started moving back to our car. By 4 PM we were home.
My official time: 51 minutes 52 seconds
My RunKeeper time: 51 minutes 37 seconds (my personal best ever!)
Average speed: 8,31 km/h (my best ever!)
Average pace: 7 minutes 13 seconds per kilometre (best ever!)
My position: 734 (830 finished + another 1000 without time measurement)
My position among women: 374
In my agegroup: 21st
Overall it was a good race. I got my best speed which is the most important, I won myself, I outdid myself. But I am not happy, I’m still… disappointed. Somehow I didn’t get this amazing “I-want-to-do-it-again!” feeling and was sad when I saw the positions and everything. I was just sad. The falling and hurting myself in the morning had a lot to do with that, I think.
When will be my next race, I don’t know. But I hope someday I will overcome this bad feeling inside me that I still have now after my first race. I feel like a poor jogger not a runner anymore. Will someone make that feeling go away, please?
Nourish, Train & Flourish 