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| Post race with James. He wanted to help mommy hold her medal. |
This race has been on my radar for a while. I can't remember what prompted it. I must have been looking for a shorter distance race to do in July and found this one. I think it was perfect timing because I was fully recovered from my half last month.
As y'all know, I make an A, B, and C goal. Here were my goals for this race:
- Goal A: Average a 7:20 pace.
- Goal B: PR, preferably under 47 minutes (previous PR was 47:34...Spoiler alert after the fact: I think I just told you guys that I PR'd)
- Goal C: Come out alive...but it better be alive and under 48 minutes.
**********
This was a small race, 125+ participants, that ran mostly on the Heritage Trail in Hilliard. If you are familiar with that trail, you know this course was flat as a pancake (or my chest after James stopped breastfeeding). There were a couple of "bunny hills," at least that's what Jackie was trying to tell us as she was barfing in her mouth. (side note: don't forget about my boobs...they come up later in the story)
This morning, I woke up feeling BLAH! I was stupid yesterday and ate a bunch of crap at a BBQ and it was weighing heavy on my belly. I had an upset stomach the rest of the evening and into the morning. On top of that, I didn't sleep well because James was up on and off throughout the night (bless my hubby for getting out of bed and dealing with it so I could try to rest). I tried to have a good attitude when I woke up. I thought "I'll eat my two eggs, drink some coffee, and visit the restroom a few times before I leave." NOT SO MUCH. I went to the fridge and we were fresh out of eggs. In fact, we were fresh out of any food that would do me any good. I had to settle for an itty bitty granola bar.
Besides this, I was a little concerned about my knee. It's been feeling funky over the last two weeks. Nothing crazy but enough to make my mind wonder. Definitely something I'll continue to monitor when I increase my mileage.
When I arrived to The Y for packet pick up, the volunteer said "You must be running the 10k." I wasn't totally sure how to take this but I went with it being a compliment. I confirmed my race and name and the same lady said "So, XL shirt I assume?" (this is where my boobs come in) I chuckled and told her "Yeah, for my huge boobs!" That got the old men at the table rolling. You would think I had won the conversation award until she came back with "What about your fat ass?!" Ha! Yes, direct quote from a stranger!
**********
The race was not chip timed so we took our friends' advice and got as close to the front as possible. At the starting line, we met a nice lady named Theresa. She asked if we were under 40. At first, I was thinking "PLEASE don't be referring to time!" Fortunately she meant age group! She was in the over 40 group (which still baffles me because she looks amazing) and was looking forward to winning her age group. I figured out she had the same goal as Jackie and me so we all decided to help each other out.
My goal was to practice pacing and keep my miles close to 7:20 throughout the race. I ran the first a bit fast (7:11) so I was able to adjust appropriately. My second mile was closer to goal pace (7:23) but I was feeling so sluggish already. Just two miles into the race, I knew I couldn't hold that pace the entire time. As the next mile ticked by, my pace got SLOWER (7:38)...EEK. I was so annoyed with myself at this point that I was able to speed up a bit for the next mile (7:30) and a little slower the next (7:34). At that point, it was all mental. I felt famished and fatigued from poor fueling.
Jackie and Theresa are the reason I survived the last 1.2 miles. We ran our couple of bunny hills and headed to the finish. Jackie knows me well and knows my favorite form of motivation during racing is to be assertive and a little mean. She was ahead of me at this point and said something along the lines of "I can't hear you breathing! " which basically means "Get your booty up here, now!" I was able to kick out a final mile of 7:25 followed by the last 0.2 miles.
Ugh. The race felt so hard because I felt so BLAH. I'm not sure if I did a poor job tapering, maybe my legs were tired from Hip Hop Fitness...Either way, I cannot complain about my finish time:
46:20!!!
Woo Hoo! I was 4th female overall and 1st in my age group (thanks to Jackie who finished 3rd overall...was this a repeat from the Winter Run? or Santa Race? I don't remember. But Jackie is good at finishing in places that bump me up to award level! What are friends for, right?!)
Pros: Flat course, great weather, nice competitors, great post race snacks
Cons: no chip timing, no spectators except at start and finish, poor use of signs to help us make proper turns in the park section of the course
**********
What's next for Lisa:
I officially start full marathon training on Monday!! I hope I'm ready for round two. I've never done 2 fulls in one year so this should be interesting. My next race is Emerald City Half which will now be incorporated as a training run for my full.
This morning, I woke up feeling BLAH! I was stupid yesterday and ate a bunch of crap at a BBQ and it was weighing heavy on my belly. I had an upset stomach the rest of the evening and into the morning. On top of that, I didn't sleep well because James was up on and off throughout the night (bless my hubby for getting out of bed and dealing with it so I could try to rest). I tried to have a good attitude when I woke up. I thought "I'll eat my two eggs, drink some coffee, and visit the restroom a few times before I leave." NOT SO MUCH. I went to the fridge and we were fresh out of eggs. In fact, we were fresh out of any food that would do me any good. I had to settle for an itty bitty granola bar.
 |
| The granola bar I wish had been two eggs. |
Besides this, I was a little concerned about my knee. It's been feeling funky over the last two weeks. Nothing crazy but enough to make my mind wonder. Definitely something I'll continue to monitor when I increase my mileage.
 |
| Pre race...discussing boobs and fat butts. |
When I arrived to The Y for packet pick up, the volunteer said "You must be running the 10k." I wasn't totally sure how to take this but I went with it being a compliment. I confirmed my race and name and the same lady said "So, XL shirt I assume?" (this is where my boobs come in) I chuckled and told her "Yeah, for my huge boobs!" That got the old men at the table rolling. You would think I had won the conversation award until she came back with "What about your fat ass?!" Ha! Yes, direct quote from a stranger!
**********
The race was not chip timed so we took our friends' advice and got as close to the front as possible. At the starting line, we met a nice lady named Theresa. She asked if we were under 40. At first, I was thinking "PLEASE don't be referring to time!" Fortunately she meant age group! She was in the over 40 group (which still baffles me because she looks amazing) and was looking forward to winning her age group. I figured out she had the same goal as Jackie and me so we all decided to help each other out.
My goal was to practice pacing and keep my miles close to 7:20 throughout the race. I ran the first a bit fast (7:11) so I was able to adjust appropriately. My second mile was closer to goal pace (7:23) but I was feeling so sluggish already. Just two miles into the race, I knew I couldn't hold that pace the entire time. As the next mile ticked by, my pace got SLOWER (7:38)...EEK. I was so annoyed with myself at this point that I was able to speed up a bit for the next mile (7:30) and a little slower the next (7:34). At that point, it was all mental. I felt famished and fatigued from poor fueling.
Jackie and Theresa are the reason I survived the last 1.2 miles. We ran our couple of bunny hills and headed to the finish. Jackie knows me well and knows my favorite form of motivation during racing is to be assertive and a little mean. She was ahead of me at this point and said something along the lines of "I can't hear you breathing! " which basically means "Get your booty up here, now!" I was able to kick out a final mile of 7:25 followed by the last 0.2 miles.
Ugh. The race felt so hard because I felt so BLAH. I'm not sure if I did a poor job tapering, maybe my legs were tired from Hip Hop Fitness...Either way, I cannot complain about my finish time:
46:20!!!
 |
| PR! |
Woo Hoo! I was 4th female overall and 1st in my age group (thanks to Jackie who finished 3rd overall...was this a repeat from the Winter Run? or Santa Race? I don't remember. But Jackie is good at finishing in places that bump me up to award level! What are friends for, right?!)
 |
| Post race awesomeness |
Pros: Flat course, great weather, nice competitors, great post race snacks
Cons: no chip timing, no spectators except at start and finish, poor use of signs to help us make proper turns in the park section of the course
 |
| My award :) |
**********
What's next for Lisa:
I officially start full marathon training on Monday!! I hope I'm ready for round two. I've never done 2 fulls in one year so this should be interesting. My next race is Emerald City Half which will now be incorporated as a training run for my full.
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