Some final race thoughts

So that was it. My first race.
The goal for all my training the last three months.
Already last night it all felt so distant and like in a dream. It was a weird feeling to have it all over and done with by 06.40 already!

So how was it, really? How do I feel about it all? Better now than yesterday actually, yesterday it felt a bit like an anticlimax...
It was a great experience, don't get me wrong! The experience itself was really the main reason I signed up in the first place. It was so cool to be a part of such a huge arrangement, and coming out of the MTR and moving towards the start was incredibly exciting!

Unfortunately, the run for me wasn't so good. It's not about my finishing time (which was bang on what I'd hoped for!) or that "maybe I should've/could've pushed myself harder, if not this or that". It was that it wasn't a good run for me. I was in pain, and couldn't enjoy the running itself. It's like when you get a stitch or when you need the toilet or when you feel dehydrated and can't enjoy it properly.
I think that's why Vicky and I reacted totally different to this big crowd of runners. She thought the massive amount of people gave her a buzz and made her just run faster and faster, all with a smile on her face. I on the other hand thought it was totally annoying that I couldn't create my own space, that I kept having to criss-cross between people and concentrate too much on not being in someones way; that sweaty people kept pushing to get past etc.
Maybe if I'd been enjoying the running, that would've been different. Who knows.

All in all, it was cool!
I'm happy I've got two more races coming up before the summer, and I'm eager to get out there and train and run and get even better and faster! :)