9/09/2011

Lessons Learned

As you probably know I did my first run yesterday. It was a so called 'company run' and one could only sign up as a team of at least three from a company. 61 people from my company did it but I only knew one whom I never saw because it was so crowded and crazy at the place.

So here's the stats:

Course length: 5.78 km (3.59 miles)
My finish time: 00:37:56
Minutes per km: 06:54
Km/h: 8.70

My finishing places are as follows:
  • All racers: 2972 out of 3727
  • Women: 588 out of 1030
  • Women in my age group: 85 out of 146

Positive Aspects:
  • I reached my goal of staying under 40 minutes.
  • I ran a steady pace and felt pretty good throughout the run.
  • I was not nervous or intimidated.
  • I met two women from my company who run marathons and do triathlons.
  • I got a medal!
  • After the run I congratulated a girl who was running right in front of me the whole time. I tried to catch her in the end but couldn't make it. She was really happy that somebody acknowledged her accomplishment.
  • The run showed me that I seem not to be a naturally gifted runner (I kind of knew that before) and that really encourages me to train more and do better next time.
  • I thought it was fun being in a more competitive race situation.
  • I did this after only two months of running.

Something that really bugged me:
  • A million people passed by me during the race.
  • The people that I ended up running by didn't look as athletic as I had hoped. I was part of the *funny* crowd.
  • It was freaking cold! That wasn't a problem during the run but right before and after.

Lessons learned:
  • Don't live in Germany if you want a real summer.
  • Train more if you want to be faster.
  • Make sure there's a bathroom close by right before the start!
  • Check on your camera before leaving!