I have never been a runner. I remember in high school P.E. the teacher made us run a mile a week and I would dread this one day. I would make excuses on why I couldn’t run or I would just walk it and it would take me a good 20-25 minutes.




Last year I did a post on my first race:The Great Santa Run: My First 5K After my first 5K I was super sore for a week. I didn’t do any prior training and I’ve never ran more than a mile without stopping. A few months later I did my second 5K in Scottsdale Springing into Scottsdale. This run was a lot easier and I wasn’t sore at all after the race. And again no prior training, just a lot of The Barry's Boot Camp Addiction is REAL.

Ben and I signed up for the San Francisco Giant Race, him a half marathon and for me another 5K. As part of the Giant Race Fitness Series, they were offering boot camp on the field friday night and saturday morning yoga on the field. We signed up to do yoga on the field at AT&T Park with Core Power Yoga the day before the race.

Core Power Yoga at AT&T park

We arrived bright and early Saturday morning for Yoga on the field at AT&T Park. The weather was surprisingly nice! It was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day in the city. The sun was on it’s way out and there wasn’t much of a breeze. Yoga was going to be perfect. Our yoga instructor, Lacey, started the session right on the dot at 9:00am. During the one hour yoga session there were instructors from Core Power Yoga walking around to correct forms and (the best part) give us mini massages. Yoga on the field was so much fun and the perfect deep stretch before a race.




After yoga we went to pick up our race bibs and our Bochy bobblehead. I had noticed that the half marathoners and 10K runners have a start time of 7:00am while the 5K runners start at 10:50am. I made a last minute decision to upgrade my race from a 5K to a 10K so I could have the same start time as Ben. I was a bit hesitant to change my race because I’m only used to running 3 miles not 6. Since I have been running 3 miles a couple days a week I decided this would be the best way to challenge myself.

My First 10K

I woke up at 5:30am sunday morning. I drank a cup of cordyceps, ate a banana, stretched, and laced up my running shoes. By 6:30am Ben and I were headed towards the starting line in front of AT&T park.




7:04am - I was underway my first 10K. The air was cool and brisk the perfect weather for running. The race took us along the embarcadero past Pier 39 and we made a U turn at Fisherman’s Wharf to start heading back towards the ballpark. The entire run I felt great, I had a steady pace, I didn't feel like I needed to stop. I just kept going. I kept running. (Forrest Gump voice)




I finished my 10K in 1:05:16 at a 10:30 minute pace.

I know a 10K is not that big of a deal, it’s definitely no marathon but I’m very proud of myself to have complete the run without stopping and challenged myself to do something out of my comfort zone. Going from a 5K to a 10K is a small step up in this crazy running world and I’m really happy I did it.

My biggest challenge that I’ve been working on is my endurance. Until recently I wasn’t able to run on a treadmill for more than 5 minutes without stopping. My heart rate would sky rocket and my heart would feel like it would going to pop out of my chest. I’ve learned to open my chest while I run and breathe deeply and slowly to keep my heart rate low. And the number one thing is remembering that it’s all mental.

I still wouldn't call myself a runner by a long shot but I'm working on improving my stamina. Because what doesn’t challenge you doesn’t change you right?




Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever ran in a race? Which one? And how many have you done? I’d love to hear your running stories!