Running

I started running again. A few weeks ago. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, to be honest. I go wicked slow, but I can keep it up for a whole half hour, which isn't bad considering I quit running when I got pregnant in 2010. So to celebrate my reentry into the sport I've been looking at races for the spring. Sure, right now I can barely get round 3 km in half an hour, but I'm confident that will improve as long as I stick with it. As I said; I've done this before. The thing is, while I know I can be ready for a 5k race in the spring, the one that I want to do is 10k. In March. The City-Pier-City Run in The Hague. Which, technically, is doable, but realistically, I don't think I want to push myself that hard. I like races. And the best way to motivate myself to do more races and continue is to have a good experience. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. So destroying myself to get around the 10k is quite possibly a far worse idea than confidently finishing the 5k. Even though the 5k race is just a square loop and the 10k race covers a nice section of city. <sigh> there's always the next year, right? (By which time I'll likely be training for the full half-marathon if all goes well.)

Besides, there are other 10k races later in the season that I could probably do with more confidence. There's the Royal Ten in The Hague at the end of May, for example, and the Ladies Run in Rotterdam in early June. Both of these also have 5k races if I totally suck in the new year. But they both also (like the CPC) want you to register already. Already! There's also a rather frightening picture of the Ladies' Run in Rotterdam in which all of the runners are wearing pink. Eep! Is that a requirement? Because I don't do pink. And I'd hate to register just to get disqualified for my clothing!

So. Should I go for the 10? Or the 5? To be completely honest, I've never run a 5k before. 7.5k, 10k, 15k and half-marathon (21.1k), yes, but never 5. Maybe it's time to give it a shot. What do you think?