My 10 Miler Race Day

Race day started out like most of my normal race day.  I was nervous and not excited about the long run, and the bad weather was not helping any of this.  It was raining pretty hard at 8:30am (Race started at 9am) and while waiting in the car, I started crying and told Dennis I didn't think I was going to run because of the rain.  Dennis said that if the rain was the ONLY reason I didn't want to run, he supported me, but he also reminded me about how I shouldn't make excuses.  And then magically, at 8:50, the rain let up and I was ready to start.  

but I don't wanna runnnn!

It was pretty cold out but after the 3rd mile I was nice and warm.  The course had already proven to be pretty challenging, with some crazy hills, one considered a "Mega Hill", and only on some of the hills I allowed myself to walk.     But when I walked, I walked fast, and ran as soon as I could.  The nice thing about this course was that there was plenty of time between hills to recover, unlike the Superbowl 10k.  

For me, the race didn't start until mile 7 when I started to feel challenged.  Miles 1 - 6 I zoned out and just basically kept running with no really problems.  The last 3 miles I started breaking down mentally and somewhat physically.  

Dennis was kind enough to figure out spots where he could cheer me on, which helped, but at one point he was driving along side me while I was running assuring me it was much easier driving rather than running.  I so not very kindly gave him the finger and told him to get out of my sight.  hahahaha. 

The last hundred feet or so was uphill (of course right?) and there was no way I was going to walk any more.  When I turned the corner and crossed the finish line, I couldn't believe my eyes.  I finished in 1 hour, 37 minutes, and 45 seconds, a HUGE PR!!!  

Comparing this course to the Broad Street run just isn't fair.  Even though they are the same distance, the two courses are completely different. The Broad Street run that I did almost a year ago is completely flat and took me almost 2 hours to run.  This race was insanely hilly and I still beat my old time by more than 20 minutes.  That is impressive!  

I already knew the importance of training, but this goes to show that if you are true to your training, put the work in, and really commit, you will see results.  Crossfit was my "Cross Training / Strength" and I know it played a huge factor into my success.   

I know that I should be very proud of myself, but the fact that I had to walk a little bit of the race bothers me.  I need to figure out how to run hills better somehow.  The good news is that my running pace obviously makes up for any short distances of walking that I do.  

After the race, I decided to go out in Philly with my sister-in-law which I was a little apprehensive about.  Usually after races, especially challenging ones, I'm useless the rest of the day, but I was completely fine.  We had a really fun time and I was able to keep up with everybody!  

Saturday:

10 Mile Race

01:37:45

Sunday:

Rest