Yes it’s Official, I am a 10k Finisher !

Yes, it’s official now, I am a 10k Finisher!

Yesterday I couldn’t sleep well, I kept waking up in the middle of the night having mixed feelings of excitement and fear of the 10k. Finally at 7:15 woke up got my coffee checked the news wore my shorts and long-sleeve t-shirt and went down for my challenge.

I was well prepared with my music playlist and started my watch and went down for a slow tempo pace.

After one song I heard the voice in my earphones “Battery Low”, OOOPS.

It means that my blue-tooth earphones will switch off in a couple of minutes, what will I do? 10k without any music ?! It’s gonna be hard!

Anyways let us continue the run maybe it’s a sign to listen to your body while running, maybe its better to hear the car sounds for safety, it’s gonna be better “inshallah”.

3rd song and the voice came this time “recharge your battery” and silence.

No problem I will remove the earphone and put the music on the phone’s speaker as I carry the phone in my running belt.

While crossing Kasr el Nile bridge I heard someone’s steps behind me, I looked back and found a veiled woman running.

I kept running very comfortably not really listening to the music as it came from around my waist but gave me the feeling that everything is still okay.

Passing through the famous “Tahrir Square” then into “Talaat Harb” street, I am now seeing a dream coming true, me running in downtown Cairo.

The woman behind me approached me asking me where is my destination as she needs to finish her last couple of miles, I told her my route she asked if she can join, I said, of course, no problem.

We went through downtown together exchanging some running experiences and she said goodbye once she finished her 10-mile mark.

After looping back again to “Kasr el Nile” bridge I still had 3k to finish my 10k challenge, I still felt strong and started to aim for some negative splits.

The pain started in my right foot arch “always giving me problems”, I said, “oh this might be the end ?” However, I had this idea of changing my foot strike from midfoot to heel, done the pain went off!

Again I gained power and momentum and finished my last 2k extra strong!

Wow, this is it! I am now a 10k finisher, I accomplished one of my 2016 goals and 2 long-time dreams, running through downtown and finishing a 10k.

Reflections:

Yes you can run without music and it’s nice

Having company while running makes running easier

Anything is possible!