So, I did it—5km in 36’1.2”!!!

I went down early to support the ever-running KatColorado but since I missed my first train to the main station, and the train was packed to the max with ladies travelling to Bern, I didn’t manage to meet her-although I did see her! But I was very glad to be there in the beginning. I saw the middle of the fast 10km and the beginning of KatColorado’s group take off, and enjoyed the atmosphere and the weather. Then, since at 9:45 in the morning the sun was already beating down on my head, I went to Claire’s (I hadn’t been there in years!) and bought myself a hat (don’t worry, no glitter) and lots of ponytail holders (embarrassingly, I had to go back to Claire’s later in the day since I’d somehow managed to leave my hairbrush at home). Then I looked at my watch and thought, oh, it might be time for KC to be finished-and you know, I wasn’t waiting 5 minutes before she came running through—she looked like she’d barely broken a sweat! All that training paid off!

So then, I still had over an hour before I ran, enough time to wander around a bit more and get changed for the race. By 12:18, it was hot! I got kind of in the back of the pack, and suddenly we were off! Although I felt in top form, I went really slowly, mostly because I wanted to save some energy for the end, but also because there were just so many women running. Even so, I still managed to pass up lots of other runners throughout the race. I hadn’t planned to take water-I knew I would do it in less than 40 minutes-but I was pretty happy for the water stands, especially the one at around 4km-the sun was blistering. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I was surprised how many people were cheering along the way, and I saw at least three mothers with very young (maybe 9 or 10-years old) daughters. My favorite parts were the two times we crossed bridges—the view was amazing.

After the 3km marker, the run just flew. I was getting a bit tired from the sun, but finally I saw a sign that said just 500m left. We were back in the old part of town, and the course kept making lots of turns; after every turn, I expected to see a sign saying 100m, my signal to sprint. I thought I saw it, and started speeding away, but then I realized it was just the 300km, and I knew I couldn’t go at top speed for that long! But finally, we rounded a bend and I saw the Post arch that marked the end, and I took off. I had to do some crazy maneuvers around the Nordic walkers, but I quickly reached the end, about 36 minuts after I started.

And although I was worn out by my sprint, overall, I think I was much better prepared for this run than my 4.4 k relay part. So I am pretty “chuffed” and feel great (except for a heinous headache). So considering I was grudgingly running 1 minute at a time back in February, I think I made pretty good progress.