To The River and Back - Our First 10K

What a weekend Adam and I had! One I definitely will not forget!

On Friday, May 7, Adam graduated with his second Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from University of Missouri - Kansas City. Adam has worked so incredibly hard (he graduated Summa Cum Laude) and to watch him walk across the stage, with his parents sitting next to me, was truly a phenomenal moment. Adam started working on his degree just six months after we met, so to have this chapter of our lives closed is unimaginable.

On Saturday, we woke up and ran our first 10K (6.2 miles). I never once imagined it was possible. Now, after doing it, I can't imagine not running another one. As a girl who had zero running experience prior to January 1st, I'm absolutely astonished at what these feet can do. I do not care for running during the training phase, but I absolutely love running the races.

We ran to the river and back in Lawrence, Kansas to benefit the Little Red School House http://www.lcnsweb.com/.

Here are 10 lessons learned during our first 10K (in no particular order).
1. Train on every possible surface. We ran on a paved street, a brick street, a dirt path in a wooded area, and on gravel. Running changes depending on the surface. I loved the variety because I never knew what was coming. That's a true adventure!
2. Hearing the pidder-padder of 200 feet running on a neighborhood street is energizing. When you focus on the sound, it's all you can hear and, in that moment, you realize all of the possibilities that a body in motion is capable of.
3. You can make friends nearly everywhere. The races are enhanced by the people you meet. We met a woman who had lost 150 pounds and was running her first 10K. I met her at the start of the race and encouraged her at the half-way point. She was the last person to cross the finish line, and nothing compares to watching a person do something for the first time. Her facial expression said it all. As she gave me a hug and thanked me for encouraging her, I realized that, at every stage of life, we are all doing something for the first time.
4. If your nose begins to run while you are running, you will wipe it on a $50 Under Armour shirt. Oh yes, that shirt will become the best feeling kleenex your nose has ever encountered.
5. The $50 Under Armour shirt was completely and utterly worth every penny. I borrowed Adam's shirt to run in, and, for the first time, I didn't want to rip off my clothing.
6. Running against the wind makes you feel like you are running in a stationary position. I think I look like a hamster running on a wheel. Am I really going anywhere?
7. Running with a stranger isn't as creepy as I imagined it would be. We met Constantine at the half-way point. He ran behind/next to/and in front of us all of the way back. Although we didn't talk much (running is the time that I become my quietest), we learned he was running his first 10K too. Granted, I'm not 100% positive that I'd be comfortable running with a stranger without Adam there, especially considering that I was scared when it was just the three of us running through a tunnel.
8. For the first time, I was able to enjoy every moment of the race. Typically, when we are training, there are parts of the run where I struggle (mainly running up a hill). During those times, I'm running for it to be over. This race/run was completely different. I made it a priority to take in every element. I heard the wind blowing in the trees, I saw the current ripple in the lake, I enjoyed the historic nature of Lawrence, and I appreciated the little children standing with their parents to encourage the runnners. It's become human nature to live for the next thing to come. So, we often miss what is happening at that precise moment. When I take the time to really appreciate what is happening to me at that exact time, I realize just how fortunate I am.
9. Running on a primarily flat course allowed me to run my fastest yet. We completed the race in 63 minutes (met the goal of running the 10K without once stopping). If we haven't been running so many hills lately, I wouldn't have truly appreciated such a flat course.

10. Everyone deserves to cross the finish line with a group of people cheering them on. People were standing and sitting along the grass. As Adam and I approached the finish line, their cheers increased and the claps became louder. We all deserve that level of encouragement, even when we are not running a 10K.