Yesterday, Sunday, June 9th, I ran my first 10k (6.2 miles). It was the American Cancer Society's George Washington Bridge Challenge. My goal was to complete it at the same pace I complete my 5k races (3.1 miles). My fastest 5k was less than 29 minutes. I wanted to finish this 10k in under an hour.
Here I am and I couldn't be prouder. My official chip time was 58:24. I ran. I ran in memory of my grandmother, Trinidad Abaquin. I ran for the person she was and all of the lives she touched. I ran for her fight, her battle with colon cancer and her fight through multiple chemotherapy rounds. And every time I got choked up thinking about her I put my emotion into every stride I took and pushed. I ran for myself and my own battles. I ran for myself and the person I am better than I was yesterday. I ran to accomplish this for me and not let myself down. I ran to succeed after all the times I failed in training. I ran to show my son who was waiting at the finish line that if you put your mind to something you can achieve it.
At this exact time last year I ran my first official 5k in over 31 minutes. I was proud then. You can only imagine how I feel now. I'm running longer distances at a faster pace. So, what's next? It doesn't stop here. Now I am getting ready to train for the Spartan Sprint on July 13th. It is a 3-5 mile course of obstacles. This week will be light training of only 3 days. This is just a small break before intense training starts next week. These four weeks will consist of less running, more body weight strength training and agility exercises. I can't wait to see how my body transforms in strength and physique.
I put a training plan together that started 8 weeks out. There were weeks I had a tough time sticking to it. There were weeks that I wasn't able to put in the number of hours I needed to. I had some good weeks, too. I had weeks that I felt really strong and had serious stamina. There were days that my strength training was intense and I was pushing my limits. Other days my runs were explosive. I also had phenomenal stretching sessions that helped me repair faster than I could imagine.
Here I am and I couldn't be prouder. My official chip time was 58:24. I ran. I ran in memory of my grandmother, Trinidad Abaquin. I ran for the person she was and all of the lives she touched. I ran for her fight, her battle with colon cancer and her fight through multiple chemotherapy rounds. And every time I got choked up thinking about her I put my emotion into every stride I took and pushed. I ran for myself and my own battles. I ran for myself and the person I am better than I was yesterday. I ran to accomplish this for me and not let myself down. I ran to succeed after all the times I failed in training. I ran to show my son who was waiting at the finish line that if you put your mind to something you can achieve it. 
At this exact time last year I ran my first official 5k in over 31 minutes. I was proud then. You can only imagine how I feel now. I'm running longer distances at a faster pace. So, what's next? It doesn't stop here. Now I am getting ready to train for the Spartan Sprint on July 13th. It is a 3-5 mile course of obstacles. This week will be light training of only 3 days. This is just a small break before intense training starts next week. These four weeks will consist of less running, more body weight strength training and agility exercises. I can't wait to see how my body transforms in strength and physique.
What's your next challenge? Be better than the person you were yesterday. After the Spartan Sprint, who knows what my next self challenge will be. Stay tuned!
In good health,
Alana
