Let's try this running thing again - Martian 10k

I just finished a 10.242km running that lasted about 0hh:56mm:46ss !

Finally another run! You might remember back in December when I posted about a run, and hoping to resume my training after more than two months without a run. Well, that was my last post in Exhaust, simply because I didn't run after that, till Saturday... Three and a half months, not a single run, or bike ride... Just like last time, I could find plenty of excuses, but the real reason is that I had no motivation at all. I am not a morning person, even on work days I rarely wake up before 10am, so running in the morning is usually out of question. And since I start my days late, everything is obviously shifted later. In winter, that means I would need to run at night. I actually like to run at night, it's quiet, much less cars if I have to cross busy roads, and I see more wildlife. But for some reason, this season, I just didn't feel like it. In short, I've been lazy for the past few months, and my training completely stopped!

So, about a month ago, I decided to register for this Martian Invasion of Races that I run almost every year. They have all the usual distances (5k, 10k, half and full marathon), but the 10k is usually a good one to start the season. Being in mid-April and in Michigan, weather can be anything. I've run it under scorching heat, and I remember one year it was freezing rain, sleet and even snow! I thought having this race as a target would help me jumpstart my training. Well, it failed miserably as I still didn't run at all until the race itself. It's only a 10k, so I knew I would finish it with no problem, but I was a bit concerned with the time. Given the circumstances, I obviously didn't set any time target for myself, but I also knew that if I didn't stay under 1 hour, I would be very disappointed.

Now for race day... Like I mentioned, not a morning person. So, getting up on a Saturday at 6am after less than 2 hours of sleep, and drive half an hour for a run, definitely not a fan! At least, the weather was great, in the high 50s (around 15C), and kinda sunny (including a cool sunrise during the drive).

I thought I was late when I arrived less than 15 minutes before the start, I had to park a bit far, and I still needed to get my bib. But it went very smoothly and I even had a few minutes spare. That's right, I could have use that time to warm up, but as usual I failed doing that too... I intentionally started in the back, so I would be forced to a slow start. It worked and I didn't get burned too quickly. But it turns out I wasn't able to really get faster anyways, even after the runners crowd got sparse. The route was nicer than I remembered, with some parts in the woods, and some bridges crossings. I managed a very slight pace progression over the first 4 miles, but still quite slow. And the 5th mile is when I really felt my age, the extra pounds and the complete lack of training. I somewhat resisted, and the last mile felt a little better.

In the end, the final time was just under 57 minutes. Most likely my worst time for a 10k, but it stayed under 1 hour, that's all I wanted! Now, two days later, my thighs and adductors (well, my whole body really) are screaming at me, and also letting me know warm up and cool down are not just some fancy words in running articles. But all in all, it was good, and I sure hope this time it will get my training going. To help for that, let's start a new table for April and see if it finally gets filled up: