Last October, just after 2 Fat Nerds turned two years old, Jon asked me to step up and start telling my story here. I have been writing a lot since then, sharing with you all each step of my journey. Having been overweight my entire life, and without an athletic bone in my body, it has definitely been a challenging course giving up unhealthy dietary habits and my self-defeatist attitude, but it was time. Last October I started a Couch-to-5k program and signed up for a very ambitious goal. I signed up to complete the Boston Athletics Association’s annual Distance Medley. The three-part medley consists of the April 5k, the June 10k, and the October Half Marathon. I signed up to run a half marathon before I could run a mile without walking, and while nobody called me crazy, I can bet a few people had their doubts.
Yesterday my Dad, Gracie, and I completed the 10k. Despite some pre-race jitters, I knew I could do it. I have spent the past eight weeks training, and it was going to be like any other Sunday morning run, right? I didn’t really have a time goal or anything, I just really wanted to finish the race without walking. My longest training run was 6 miles, which I did two weeks ago, so I knew I could do the distance, but I was very worried about the possible heat and humidity issues, as it is late June. We really lucked out yesterday. It was only 63 degrees when we started the run at 8, and was creeping up to 70 as we finished. The humidity was at about 50%, so it was not really an issue at all during the race.
My Dad decided to stick with me during the run, trading in his potentially pretty awesome time just to say he did it with me, which I very much appreciated. We started out about 15 minutes past the first gun time, in the middle of the pack of 6602 racers. We only had to go about a mile before we got our first view of our cheering section. Thanks so much to Mom, Dave, Brooks, Mike, and Jeff for getting up early and coming out to cheer us on! The race was pretty, heading down Commonwealth Avenue and past some of the nicest homes in Boston’s Back Bay. Once out of the Back Bay, we headed out towards Boston University for a three mile stretch that was mostly uphill and in direct glaring sunlight. I didn’t let these facts phase me, because the view of the Boston skyline when we reached the turn-around made it all worth it.
Epic brunch following the race! I run so I can eat!
Overall, everyone did great. Gracie crushed it with an overall time of 1 hour and 46 seconds! I finished the race, without walking, without losing my smile, in under an hour and a half. Ok, ok, I know it’s not fast, but that’s OK. I’m pretty proud of myself for having gotten this far. Two months ago I didn’t even run the 5k without walking (granted I was recovering from a 9-day stomach bug...) but it’s pretty cool to see what hard work over an extended period of time can really do. Having completed this 10k, I am feeling a lot more confident about the Half Marathon in October. I just have some work to do.
Remember when you said you weren’t a runner? Bahaha. Not true!
Am I a runner now?!!? I don’t know about that!
Following the schedule gets results! Love it, you can tackle the half!!!
WAY TO GO ADRIENNE! You are going to do great for your half marathon!
Thanks, Amy!
Adrienne, your first 10K was very impressive – you set a good pace and stuck with it – very proud of you and it was a lot more fun running with you than going it alone. – hope you enjoyed my James Taylor and Carol King singing!