9460

9460 that is my place in previous weekendes Tjejmilen that I ran in Stockholm.
Tjejmilen is one of the largets runing races in the world for females. Its all from the Elite, to runners, joggers, walkers etc.

My journey toward this race started in end of May after I had dome a health check up for my new job at the aquarium. After being informed that my physical age was 43 I decided that I need to ASAP start to work out and get back into my old shape. But what to do?

Studying fulltime and working partime does not make you rich, when your university is in another city from where you live and work. I had promised myself that after the thesis was presented and handed in I would start to take better care of my body and start working out.

The same day as I did that health check I went for my first run inover a year with one of my friend and her dogs, the following week a colleague and friend joined me for a run. Poor thing really had to run slow to keep up with me and had to walk when I was totally completely out of breath, We ran 5 km.

She asked me then if I would like to join her team for Tjejmilen. She needed a fourth person to complete the team. I said yes, but at that time I only had one goal. To run the entire 10 km race, but the time was not important at all.

That was in may, during the summer I have done some 5 km hillystreet runs in Lysekil where I have been living the last 2 months. I have not run as much as I have wished due to a quite physically challenging work including scuba diving, walking in the ocean collecting algea and well being on your legs non stop for a minimum of 5 hrs a day.

Last week I ran my first 10 km in over 10 years time. I felt like I was going to die a couple of times and when my freind on the 8 km wanted me to incerase the speed a little I had no energy left in my body. I finished that run on a decent time 63min.
Sat a new goal for the race on saturday: To run under 60 min.

I never made that time goal unfortunately with a finishing time on 1,04,58 I should be pleased. Starting late in the race with people everywhere and me spending more time on trying to figure out how I can overtake the slower ones + the rain. Some where between the 6th and 7th km the rain started to pour down. We are talking the muddy puddles on the gravel parts of the track turned into lakes, the uphill on the 9th km had a small stream running down and the finsihing line as just a huge mudlake.

But I did it I ran the whole 10 km track!!!
Now my goal for next year to be able to seed into atleast starting group 3. That is I need to run an official 10 km race faster than 58 min. But I can do it I know it.

In may I'm supposed to run a half marathon. Here I am actually wondering what was I thinking!! 10 km is far, 21km is light years away. I am starting to train for this next week already!