I have just completed my first 21-kilometre (km) race, this has been one my endurance goal.
A couple of years ago I told friends that ‘one’ day I am going to run the Comrades Marathon which is just under 90 km. I needed to change a lot of things for me to be able to reach that level.
The competitive race was my second attempt at a 21 km run. I ran the first one practising around the block. The practice run was under special weather conditions. When I left home just after 5 am it was cloudy, and it started to rain an hour into the run. The rain stopped for some time and continued midway and I arrived home soaking wet. The rain played a big role and helped me to complete the race. I felt like my body was ready for anything after this long run.
The second race was different, there was no cloud insight and it was a competitive one. The race began at 06:30 the sun was rising. The temperature was 25 degrees and would reach a peak of 32 during the race. The roads were filled with up hills, I was enjoying the race until we got to 13 km mark. The steep hills started to take a toll on me, and I began walking the race with the marshals shouting, ‘NO WALKING IN RUNNING SHOES”.
Later, in the race I manged to join a team running together, they had a good vibe. I started running again from the 16 km mark and finished strong.
My goal was to start and finish the race without walking, so I will attempt a 21km race again in a month.
While running this post came to mind and I thought I should share three things I wish I knew before my first long distance race.
1.Get proper fuel for the body.
When I do my 5 km daily runs I normally wake up, dress up and head out without grabbing something to eat. Someone advised me to grab two bananas one hour before the race. I managed to eat one and nibble on almond nuts the morning of the race.
The ‘semi’ meal assisted me as I felt hungry after running for 2 hours. I imagine the hunger would have been worse if I didn’t eat anything. Eating before a race has never been my routine as I never get hungry during my practice runs. I am making this a new routine for long distance races.
2. Get proper rest.
A surprising truth I am learning on this fitness journey is that rest is as important as exercise. While pushing our bodies to their maximum through exercise, it is also important to rest the body. Rest includes proper sleep and not running some days.
The week leading up to the race I practiced for more days and pushed my running to new heights. I was very excited and only slept 5 hours the night before the race. If I could redo things I would run only three days (Monday to Wednesday), rest for two days (Thursday and Friday) and on Friday I would make sure that I get my full 8 hours of sleep before the race. Proper rest will be an integral part of my next race.
3. Practice hills.
In my daily 5km practice runs the road is level plane from start to finish. When I began running it was difficult however I have recently started to get used to it. My body was used to running on plain fields with no hills.
The 21 km race was filled with hills and bends, for about 5 km we had to run up hill. I was attracted to the road with the least resistance which made me unprepared for the race filed with hills and bends.
I have recently changed my running routine which includes steep hills and bends. The new goal is to master hills. The new route is challenging but I will not stop until it becomes the ‘new’ normal. The greatest lesson the race taught me is that I need to push and do the hardest tasks in training and the competitive race will be much easier.
You may be reading this post and wondering if you will ever get to be at a place where you can run 21km. I believe you can, 4 months ago I couldn’t even complete 2km, I was a certified couch potato, unhealthy and had a bulging waistline.
All of that changed when I went without sugar for 90 days. The good news is that we have the second instalment named the #90DaysWithoutSugar2019, a 12 week program to help people lose weight, defeat sugar addiction and take steps to living healthy. We have a workout program that will take you from 0 to 5km in 60 days. If you are interested to start living health you can sign up here.
This is so inspiring. I recently joined the #90days challenge and I’ve been following you on twitter. Your passion and dedication motivates me. I’m still trying to conquer 2km but after reading this, I’m more optimistic than I was yesterday. Thank you!
That is awesome Nollz and yes its POSSIBLE. You are next!