10k run in the Utah Summer Games

I was pretty nervous going into today's 10k run.  I had been training for some time but I hurt my calf muscle a little over a month ago and I have been easing back into my running routine. I have run the 6.3 miles several times, but I haven't run that distance since the injury.  I've had all kinds of nightmare outcomes to the race playing in my head:  coming in dead last, getting passed and beaten by somebodies grandmother, re-injuring my leg.....

I was interviewed the other day by the Iron County Today newspaper.  Here is the article that was published last Wednesday:

Runners participate in the 5K in the 2009 Utah 

Summer Games. This year’s 10K and 5K will be 

Friday and Saturday.

slideshow

When the Utah Summer Games starting guns fire this weekend for the 5K and 10K road races, there will be a lot of different people running for a lot of different reasons.

Some want to win a medal, and some just want to finish. Others will be out for a short run with friends, and still others will be trying to run the fastest they have ever run.

Brian Tremelling will be entering his first 10K race on Friday, and his goal is a modest one.

“I would like to finish in under 60 minutes,” Tremelling said. “Even if it’s only a few seconds faster, I want to do it in under an hour.”

No matter how fast or slow he runs, Tremelling, 41, will be a whole bunch smaller than he was last October.

Tremelling has lost 85 pounds. He maintains he’s not on a diet – he just wants to look and feel better.

“If you aren’t ready to lose weight, you’ll never do it,” Tremelling said. “I just watch what I eat, have smaller portions, and the trick for me is finding (low calorie) foods I like and can fill up on.”

Tremelling had never ran more than a mile or two consecutively, but took on the challenge of the 10K as a sort of measuring stick and goal for him to look forward to.

A native of San Diego, Tremelling surfed and played volleyball growing up, and continued to play basketball even when his weight slowly increased.

Between the diet change and running, he lost eight inches off his waist, and went from an XXXL shirt to a large.

Is he done?

“I’d like to perhaps expand my running to where I can do a half-marathon,” Tremelling said. “And the triathlon sounds like a lot of fun.”

Well, the writer got most of it right......Anyway, I really didn't think that I was going to be able to finish in under 60 minutes because my fastest time at that distance was about 70 minutes.  I was also nervous because my calf was sore when I woke up this morning - not a good way to start today...

Long story short (I know, too late  ;-), I did better than I had dared to hope.  I finished at 55min and 03sec!  I was 43rd over all out of about 180 runners and 6th in my age bracket.  Looking back on this morning, I know that I ran the best race my body could run today - I'm very happy.  The last mile is always the toughest for me but I got such an amazing feeling when I approached the finished line and saw my whole family standing there with signs and cheering me on.  I really felt loved and supported - it was amazing!