I love running and I love running in races, but calling it “running” has always been kind of a stretch. I had never been very fast and my run was more a shuffle. Once my sister and I did the Tilden Tough 10 mile race in Berkeley and when we crossed the finish line they made a special announcement because we were two of the last three finishers. “Wait,” the announcer called after the award ceremony had ended. “There are a more runners.”
In the last couple of years, I feel like I’ve earned the right to use the word running. Especially after the Santa Monica Classic. I had my best time ever in a 10k coming in at 56:41 and running a 9:08 minute mile. It was amazing. My 13-year-old son, who has always been fast, won his age division coming in at 42:08 and running a 6:47 minute mile.
Part of the reason that I ran so fast (for me) was because I had been training and partly because my Nike+ app that tracks my pace had stopped working. I had no idea how fast I was going so I ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know I could keep a 9 minute mile pace for 6 miles because I wasn’t limited to how fast I thought I should go. I ran as fast I could go.
It helped that I did the race with friends and family and that it was a beautiful day.
It was a very encouraging start. The Santa Monica Classic is the first race in the Conqur LA series that includes the Pasadena Half Marathon in January, 2018 and the LA Marathon in March, 2018. I’m super nervous about all of the training and may have injured my foot in the classic, but I’m excited to have started strong.