a moment in eternity

My First Official 10k Run

fitness

originally, this has been an instagram post that i now turned into a blog post. pictures incoming

I love moving. Gym, handstanding, dancing, swimming, hiking, running, you name it 🏋️‍♂️🤸‍♂️💃🏊‍♂️🏞️🏃‍♀️
For a long time, I wanted to focus on one discipline with a measurable goal.

An official 10k run sounded like a fun and realistic challenge. I could already run 10k (depending on my other exercises, I ran 0-2 times per week).

My personal goal was to complete it in under 1 hour.

24 days before the run (I have no idea what I’m doing)

  • Signed up for a 10k run as a birthday gift to myself.
  • Asked ChatGPT to turn a 8-week training plan I found on the internet into a 24-day training plan.
  • Was proud of my plan.
  • Started training not according to the plan.
  • Tracked my training sessions on Strava and took notes on paper.
  • Ran 3x/week with 1-2 days of cross-training or functional gym workouts.
  • Learned more about sleep, rest and nutrition.

Week of the run (Things got serious)

  • On Monday, I finally read the onboarding email and realized the run was on Friday, not Saturday as I had thought. Oops.
  • Started drinking isotonic drinks, taking electrolytes, using a blackroll, and telling more friends about the run to feel more like a runner.
  • I felt more like a runner.

The Run

  • I knew nothing about starting positions and started too far up with fast runners who had an average pace of < 4:30min/km instead of my aimed 6:00min/km.
  • Managed to slow down and let others pass, but KM 5-8 were tough.
  • Persevered without breaks, and the sprint to the finish line in the last few hundred meters was magical. No idea where that energy came from, but it felt like flying✨

The atmosphere of the event was incredible - so many high-energy people, and Cologne at night is just beautiful🌟🏙️

Conclusion

  • Finished with a PR of 59:58 - under 1 hour! 😂
  • Could have done many things differently in hindsight, but am super happy with my first 10k result.
  • My parents joined to cheer me on, which was a cool bonding experience🫶🏽

I loved working towards this goal and am looking forward to breaking down other interests in my life into measurable milestones like this 🎯

And there’s a half-marathon opportunity around the corner… let’s see! 👀