Backlog Bloggin' - The Parisienne

post I should have posted on Sept 13th.

So I did it. I ran The Parisienne today and I'm really happy I made it to the finish line.

I have to admit that even though I'd decided to run it over a year ago, I didn't start training for it until the end of June and didn't actually sign up to run until end of July!

That's why I say I'm happy I made it to the finish line, because three months before I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the start line!!


I was under the impression that the race was 12km long and I was in such bad shape that the first time I went to the gym I was only able to run 4 km in 45 mins at a very slow speed. I knew I would never make it through 12km of outdoor running in this condition. So I decided I wouldn't sign up until I was able to run at least 3/4ers of the distance. I started to hit the gym after work four times a week and with each passing week I'd add either time or speed to the treadmill; all the time not having yet made up my mind to run or not. Slowly but surely I got my endurance up and by beginning of August I was able to run between 8km and 8.5km in under an hour four times a week. I'd also lost a couple of kilos along the way which as you an imagine was an extra incentive to keep on going. So on the last night before inscriptions were closed, I logged on to the Parisienne website and signed up to run.

And that's when I found out that the race was actually a 6km race !


I have to admit I was a little disappointed at this. I had been wanting to test myself and see if I was able to run a distance I'd yet to reach in my training. Now I was sure I was going to make it to the finish line and somehow the "challenge" didn't seem such a great one anymore. So I stopped training for a week. That's right. I'm a flake.

But something funny happened during that week. I missed working out.

Somewhere along the line, I'd become addicted to those miserable 50 and so minutes where nothing else matters, only the pounding of my feet on the treadmill and the music blasting in my ears and my eyes firmly set upon my own eyes reflected in the mirror in front of me, edging them to go on and on. I never got any side pains anymore as I used to when I'd started out, nor did my legs hurt after 30mins, nor did my body feel jiggly when running and all of these changes somehow told me that all this was about so much more than simply running a stupid race. It was about me. Something inside was changing and it felt so much better.

I hadn't even noticed that I didn't feel sad or depressed anymore until Hubby commented on this one day. I didn't notice that I had switched my (daily six-pack) diet coke addition for bottled water until I opened the fridge in my office one morning and noticed all the stock-up cans I hadn't touched in weeks. I hadn't even noticed that I was loosing weight until the day laundry hadn't been done chez Fned's and I pulled out the last pair of clean pants I had left from the back of my closet which tended to cling unflatteringly to my waist and butt (hence the back of the closet thing) and suddenly they weren't so... clingy!

So what if the race wasn't going to be the grand challenge I'd been wanting it to be? By then I knew I was doing this no longer just for the race. I was doing this for myself and the 3rd decade of my life in which I was now entering. So I went back and kept training. I decided I wanted to finish the face in under 45 mins - which yes, is not such an awesome time considering I was already running 8km in 50 mins, but I'd been training exclusively indoors and wasn't sure what it was going to be like to run on cobble-stoned streets with hills and sidewalks and stuff like that so I decided to give myself some leeway.

My last apprehension was the NY trip. Travelling/Vacations usually tend to disrupt any routine for me (as I've often blogged about in the past) and this trip was happening the week before the race. Fortunetly enough, our hotel had a fitness center and I was able to keep up my 4 times a week routine in addition to all the walking and sightseeing Hubby and I did while there. As a side note I have to add that you know you're in Manhattan when your treadmill has enough knobs and buttons and screens that it looks like a Nasa command centre instead of simple exercise equipment!!


So I made it to the Parisienne's starting line and I made it to the finish line as well. I'm so happy and proud of myself because somehow deep inside me I feel like the real challenge started way before I hit the starting line.


Fned.

My times: 6Kms: 00:37:07 mins
3,194th place / 14,850 arrivals to the finish line

The "Village de la Parisienne" was packed!

The general "vibe" of the place was awesome!!

Can you believe our "starting line" mark?

17,000 of us ladies ran that day!!

And we're off!!

"You shall not pass!"

"WANNA BET KID?!!"

Can you spot Fned?

Yay! The Finsh Line!

=)

All pics: Hubby.