The Gayla Pink Apple : Little Rock Marathon 2013 Events

The Gayla Pink Apple

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L i t t l e R o c k M a r a t h o n E v e n t s
10K - Half Marathon - Marathon!

March 3, 2013

Little Rock, Arkansas

Marathon 3,000 (sold out 12/17/12)
Half 5,300 (sold out 12/31/12)
10K 1,600 (sold out 2/1/13)

Gayla Runs the 10K - Yay!

My 10K Medal

OMGosh!!!!!! Can you believe it? Well, me neither! However, my body believes it! :)

I ran the 10K portion of the Little Rock Marathon today. My first 10K! I am on 'cloud nine' and sure I'll fall off those clouds as soon as I sit for a little while, then try to stand up and walk.

Months ago, as I contemplated attempting the 10K this year, I knew I had to stay on track with my running in order to come close to running 6.2 miles. A 5K (3.1 miles) was the most I'd done successfully. Let me just say, 6.2 miles sounded like a full 26.2 miles to this gal!

At the end of last summer, I had gotten off of my running schedule. I was running, but not consistently. And, at the end of September, when I returned from Boston and NYC, (where I spent five weeks with my daughter,) I knew I had to get back to my routine. I decided to start training for the 10K and in the back of my mind I knew I could always change it to the 5K.

So, training and getting ready for March 3rd kept me running. For a while, I wasn't sure if I'd do the 5K or attempt the 10K. I just knew staying on track with running four times a week was a must for me to be able to do either.

Obviously, I stayed on schedule, running through the cold and winter months. I ran Thanksgiving morning, oh so cold; and even ran Christmas morning in the sleet and rain. However, I discovered the proper cold weather clothing that worked for me, keeping me somewhat warm, allowing me to stay on track with my runs.

Since the registration was filling up quickly, by mid December, I knew I had to make a decision soon. By the first of the year, I had already registered for the 10K, so it was serious business to stay on track with the training. (But, in the back of my mind, I could still switch to the 5K.) For the time being, I entered into a temporary marriage to the LRM 10K official training schedule. I questioned my sanity a couple of times! By the time mid to late February rolled around, I felt I could do it, but, my oh my, I was soooo slow.

Back of a shirt at the Expo :)

Literally speaking, many people can walk it as fast as I was running (jogging.) A little bit of a downer, but I realized, hey, you've trained, your body can do it, stop whining about being slow, just do it and while you're at it - why not enjoy it!

Oh, how I tossed and turned last night, getting little sleep. This morning my stomach churned, butterflies dancing inside me, my leg wouldn't stop bouncing; my mind wouldn't stop racing, my anxiety level was high. Man oh man, I was nervous! Adrenaline flowing! You would have thought I was running the full by the way my internal being was behaving! WHY, all the fuss, you wonder? Well, either you get it or you don't. It's time to Run Gayla Run!

I ignored all those little tiny cute runners passing me, zooming by, leaving me in their dust. I puttered along - I knew the route - my RunKeeper app was keeping me informed (which is not legal if you're running for money) - not to mention my Garmin, lol - my music rocking my beat and rhythm (which is also not legal if you're running for money) - all was good! It was time to put my little blinders on - finally relaxing to enjoy what I had worked so hard these past months to do! Run Gayla Run!

But, reality hit, it was 25-30 degrees, and I sailed through the first 4 miles and then hit the dreaded Broadway Bridge mile 5 slope and it zapped me. I must admit, it was an unexpected kick in my behind! I thought I was prepared for the dreaded slope. But, it just wasn't my day, and all I could do was beg my body to push and plead with my feet to keep putting one in front of the other. I wasn't able to recover very well at beginning of mile 6 - a little bit - but not enough to have a good run. BUT, it was a SUCCESS because I FINISHED it, So, in spite of it all...

having run 6.2 miles today

feels AWESOME!

Note, I said HAVING run ...