Race day!!
So my gorgeous little man Charlie started playschool this week. He’s attending just two afternoons a week for the moment and he absolutely loves it. It’s also great for me because on one of those days I don’t work which means I get three whole hours of free time. There was a time when Charlie was younger that I would almost feel guilty over enjoying my free time away from him but as time went on I realised how important is for me and how beneficial for my mind it is to have my own space and do the things I love and enjoy!
On Wednesday my sister in law and I took turns watching each other’s kids and each got out for a run. For some reason I just wasn’t in the humour for it at all but said I’d get out and try 5k, I really just couldn’t get into the swing of it and enjoy the run like I usually do but I managed to do it at my fastest pace yet so that made it worthwhile!
Fridays run was a disaster, this time I was really in the mood for it and couldn’t wait to get out while Charlie was at playschool but it was lashing rain, which I don’t usually mind, but it was also freezing cold and I just couldn’t warm up so I gave up after 3k.
Luckily Saturday was a brighter day!
I entered the Rathcoffey 10k and it was just brilliant. I fuelled up for the race with a peanut butter and banana chia pudding and I found it really helped my energy levels for the run. I hadn’t competed in a race since July so I was a little nervous on the morning but ended up bumping into an old friend which calmed the nerves, we have both taken up running since we last met which was a lovely coincidence, we ran together for the first 3k and then she ran on ahead as her pace is a lot quicker than mine, it was a good thing she did though as we couldn’t help but keep chatting to each other as we ran together which had me struggling to keep my normal pace. So I tried to quicken up for the rest of the run. I was really determined to beat my PB but by eight kilometres I was still a good way off it so I had to really push myself for the last two kilometres and thankfully managed to beat it by around twenty seconds.
The whole morning was just so enjoyable I cannot wait to do another organised run. The buzz I got on completing it was just brilliant, I was in great form for the whole day and honestly just wanted to get out and do another one as soon as I could!
Although I will say I couldn’t help but feel a little deflated when I realised the amount of people who had completed it before me. It’s hard in those situations not to compare yourself to others but I had to remind myself how far I’ve come on my own running journey. And it’s made me more determined to push myself harder for the next run and try knocking another few seconds off my time!
