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| I'm the one in blue with black and pink cap, and on my right there's my sister Kasia. |
I made my
another dream come true – I ran in a 10 km Street Run in my town – Przemyska
Dycha!
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It took place on 21 November 2014. I
participated in it with my sister. It was the first serious running event I took part in, except for the
Santa Claus Run which was just a pure fun for me. This run, on the other hand,
was fully professional. We had chips measuring our time, starting numbers, the
traffic was stopped, there were people located on the streets who showed us the
way and gave us water. The start was around the city centre – on one of the
main streets, covered with cobblestones, surrounded by beautiful old tenement
houses, by the best ice cream parlour in my town. The finish was at the parallel street known for it’s
monuments, a fountain and a museum inside a clock tower.
All runners
gathered together at the start. Some of them were already warmed-up, others
stretched and jogged. Me and my sister made a few circles and did some
stretching exercises. I felt I was ready. I was proud of myself and I was in an
excellent mood. I was focused and motivated. Watching other runners passing by
was not an easy situation for me. I was afraid I might be the last one on the
finish. The awareness that there were many people behind me was comforting. I
found a good way to improve my performance – I chose people in the crowd I
wanted to catch up to and leave behind. It was a useful strategy.
I finished
with time: 01:03:15,
which was 9.48 km/h. I took the 114th place in general, in a women category I
was 42nd. It’s my best result ever! I ran much faster than usually,
mainly because of the competitive atmosphere and the influence of the crowd.
Besides, I wanted to test my running abilities so I did my best. I’m very
satisfied with my result. Now I have a basis – I know what I am capable of and
I can improve in 2015. I plan to fit in less than an hour next time. It’s
realistic. Without taking breaks for walking and adding some speeding would
definitely improve my performance. I train intervals and work on my general
fitness. I became more durable and my body is used to an active lifestyle. I
know that with a proper training I may improve every year and break my life
records. I’m already excited about it!
We all have
commemorative caps and snoods instead of t-shirts. I think it’s a great idea –
we can use them in Autumn, Winter and Spring. It’s a useful gift, of great
quality, made especially for runners. All participants got ceramic medals. The confectionery found cakes
for us and all women were given red roses. At the end there was a decoration
and an award ceremony.
606 people
finished the run, including 463 men and 143 women. The best result was
accomplished by a man: 00:30:22, 19.76 km/h and the last person, a woman did:
01:19:24, 7.56 km/h.
I know I
could run faster but I might loose the impact, run out of steam and,
consequently, have much worse result or even pass out (like some of the
participants who were carried to the finish line by the medical help). I chose
a balanced, slower but persistent effort.
However, on
the next 10 km Street Run I’m going to risk and go all out. Before, the 10 km
distance was my goal. Now I’m thinking about 15 km, then half marathons and
marathons. But these are just plans for future. A marathon is my great dream.
It would be the culmination of my success, winning the struggle with my body
and mind. 4 months earlier, I would say that I’ll try to run in a half marathon
this year. Considering unusual circumstances, this plan is postponed. I’ll
explain why soon.
Below these are photos of me and my sister with the Running Club I joined a short time after this run.
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