I admitted earlier that my friend and I did not train like we needed to in order to run a fast race since we had been focused on the triathlon in September. In the future I won't plan races that close together or at the very least have a better plan in place before committing.
We decided to make this race a fun run and partially a training run for our full marathon coming up in February. The moment we made that decision all race jitters and any anxiety about the race went away. The night before the race I slept like a baby and this is not normal for me. The night before a race I usually get very little sleep because I'm really afraid of sleeping in and missing the race. So I usually wake up every hour which is not fun.
Race morning I felt well rested and I walked out my door to find my friend Karoline with two egg and chorizo burritos in her hand. Yummy! It was a real treat. We walked out to the street and the rest of our friends were there to pick us up and then we were off to the race.We got to the start area in plenty of time to use the potties and get in our wave. Two of our friends went up to the speedy waves and Karoline and I went a couple waves back to where we thought we would pace ourselves. We took a quick picture before the start.
Then it was our turn to start the race. It was hard to keep our pace slower than normal but we knew it was needed to get through the race comfortably. We chose to walk through every water station which was a wonderful change! I usually run through them because I carry my own water and nutrition but occasionally I will grab a cup and try to drink it only to be plagued by a side cramp five seconds later. No side cramps this race. I really don't think we lost any time doing this because we would quickly catch up with the group we were around before the water break.
I really enjoyed all the scenery I totally missed last year. Around mile nine we were both talking about how good we felt mainly due to keeping the pace nice and easy. But around mile eleven I hit a point were I felt I was just done running for the day. Luckily Karoline told me to get my booty in gear and to keep moving and that little boost help me push through my yucky spot. I really wasn't hurting but I think it was more mental.
It was a great race experience this year so I couldn't ask for more than that!
 |
Official Finish time: 2:18:11
Avg. Pace: 10:33
Age group place: 364 out of 1063
Splits from my Garmin:
Mile 1- 10:10
Mile 2- 10:24
Mile 3- 10:05
Mile 4- 9:39
Mile 5- 10:06
Mile 6- 9:55
Mile 7- 9:44
Mile 8- 9:52
Mile 9- 10:14
Mile 10- 10:26
Mile 11- 10:18
Mile 12 -10:27
Mile 13- 9:33
