Michelle Marie Health & Wellness

Back at the end of August I began to search online for a local 5k and hopefully a 10k race (they are hard to find). I stumbled upon the TuftsHealthPlan 10k for Women and quickly without thinking twice registered. I have always wanted to complete an official 10k but had never pushed myself to sign up for one. My manager is an avid marathon runner and was so excited when she heard that I had signed up for a race. She quickly registered as well so I wouldn’t be racing alone and to be able to share the great experience with me. Once I was registered I was excited to start training. I used to be an every day runner but recently had stress fractures in my feet that forced me to avoid running for awhile. Since I have been completely hooked on Pure Barre and have forgotten about my love for running so this was the perfect push to get back into it. I had recently been beginning to run 5ks a couple times a week but needed to train to push myself to the 6.2 and I also wanted to finish in a good time. My training plan consisted of 5k runs, 2 mile fast runs, and a few long runs and before I could blink it was race day.

The event itself was incredible. The amount of women involved was inspiring and so motivating. There were close to 8,000 women running and around 20,000 spectators, so the atmosphere was motivating to say the least. I finished the race in 43:04 and couldn’t be happier about it. I was aiming for 8-8:30 min/miles but never expected an average of 7:36 min/miles! After crossing the finish line, my manager and I got to participate in a stretching class on the Boston Common and then grab a lot of free goodies from countless vendors; Luna, Stonyfield, Sparkly Soul, Nuun, City Sports, and Reebok. It was an amazing day and I was very happy to share it with the hundreds of women participating as well as celebrate with my manager at the finish line! I might now be hooked on participating in races..