I ran the Capitol Challenge 10K on Saturday; I finished in 1:06:53. Go me.

This was a super well-organized run around the state capitol building here in Oklahoma City. The course was 5K; for the 10K, we ran the same loop twice. I would wholeheartedly recommend this run to anyone in the OKC metro — the course was clearly marked, there was ample water, and all the volunteers were friendly and enthusiastic. It was a really good experience.

Except for the running part.

I had the kind of run that makes non-runners think people who say they love running are either insane or jacked up on goofballs. I struggled through the first 5K and thought about quitting, but slogged on; the second 5K was agonizing. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was not fun.

I ran six miles a couple of weeks back, and it was easy. Of course, it was 60 degrees that morning, which made a huge difference. More of a difference than I had counted on, actually. The weather here is still horrible; on Saturday morning, at 8 am, it was nearly 80 degrees and the humidity was almost 80%. The race announcer was making jokes about how humid it was, in fact. It was brutal.

I’m also having a hard time pacing myself for longer runs. On Saturday, I ran the first 5K in 31 minutes, which was too fast. I need to figure out how to slow myself down, for at least the first half of a long run. You know, so I don’t die.

Having said all that, though, I will also say this: my goal was to finish in under 70 minutes, and I did. I woke up yesterday morning feeling pretty darn good, too — my knees didn’t hurt at all, which was what I worried about. This morning I ran just under 4 miles in just over 40 minutes, again in the 80%-plus humidity (wth, Oklahoma???) and I felt great afterward.

So there’s that.

Next up is the Oklahoma City Race for the Cure, on October 9; my goal is to finish the 5K in under 30 minutes. That seems manageable, right?

Right.