I rocked this race.
Since my last two 5ks had fairly dismal times (around 35 minutes), i had a goal for myself to finish this 10k in 1:10. I’m proud to say i met that goal, and then some. BOTH the first and second half were faster than my last two races.
I got a decent night’s sleep. The IMP game we hosted the night before finished around 11, and four of those guys headed out to a poker game at a friend’s house. Lance (and Malcolm) came home around 4:30 am. I woke up, of course (the dog warned me of the “intruders”), but happily, Lance did not want to talk so i easily went back to sleep.
I forgot to set the alarm, but still woke up at the appointed time of 7 am. After a light breakfast and gathering my gadgets (GPS watch… check, Ipod… check, Water… check, hankie… check), i headed out. Got to the site, got my free t-shirt, bib number, and timing chip.
It was COLD. I’m estimating low 40s. I jogged back to the car to deposit all my junk, and then jogged about a half mile more to warm up enough so i could leave my sweatshirt in the car. When all was said and done, i timed it perfectly, and got to the race start with only 5 minutes to wait and stretch before we started.
Mile 1: I started in the last third of the pack. I was feeling pretty good, thanks to my warm-up. The second half of the first mile was all uphill, and some of it pretty steep. But i have a strict “no walking in the first mile” rule, so i pushed through it. My pace was actually pretty darn good for me, considering the hills. 10:27.
Mile 2: A little more uphill, then we turned around and headed back down the masive hill we had just climbed. And suddenly, i wanted to RUN. I stretched my legs and took advantage of the downhill. I passed a lot of people on the way down, which made me think i should probably be pacing myself better. But i didn’t care, i wanted to go fast, and i felt like the wind! I noticed one other person, a little Asian woman, just ahead of me, who was doing the same thing. 9:21.
Mile 3: Most of this mile was around the lake, very flat. I pused myself still, because i thought i could smell a 30 minute 5k. I didn’t quite make it when you add in the .1, but i was SO close! 9:54.
Mile 4: After pushing myself pretty hard in miles 2 and 3, i stopped at the water station and walked for probably a minute. I reasoned that i was pleased with the first half, and now i could just enjoy the rest of the race. We were back at the start, and the second verse would be the same as the first. After my break, i started up again and noticed a slight burning sensation on my inner thighs. My fat legs were rubbing together there, and apparently the Easy Glid had worn off. Ugh. When i got to the hills again, i spotted my little Asian woman up ahead, taking a walk break. I passed her, but at the steepest section of hill i just had to walk again. I walked for about 20 seconds or so and started up again about the same time she caught up with me. We stayed together the rest of the race, and both persevered through the rest of the hills. 12:18.
Mile 5: Downhill again! Again, my Asian friend and i picked up the pace. Not nearly as fast as the first time, but i was feeling good, and had my new running buddy to sort of hold me accountable. My inner thighs were hurting, and my pattern became In-2-3-Out-2-3-adjust-shorts-repeat. 10:11.
Mile 6: Around the lake again. The first half of this mile, i kept checking my watch and being continually astonished that my pace was in the low or mid 9s. On the other side of the lake, we turned into the sun instead of the shade-sheltered first side of the lake, and i started to feel the 5.5 miles i had just run. I was suddenly tired. My pace slowed a litttle, but not much, and i was inspired by the people i was passing. My inner thighs were like fire, though. Towards the end i started to slow down thinking i’d walk for just a few seconds, but then i said NO! And pushed on. 10:22.
Final .2: This seemed really long! After the 6 mile marker, i felt like i was Done Now, and it was almost unbearable to keep going. But i knew i was way under my goal time and even thought i might beat 1:05. And sure enough, as i approached the finish, i saw the official clock at 1:04:45. My time was 15 seconds better than that b/c i didn’t cross the start when the official clock started, but it became important to me to finish before the official clock crossed 1:05:00. And i did! With a second or two to spare. 2:10. 
I calculated my actual time at 1:04:43. I was elated. I did walk twice in the fourth mile, but ALL of my other miles were excellent by my standards.
As thrilled as i am, it makes me wonder just what is up with me. The first 5k of this year, and now my first 10k ever, i did great, better than i thought i could. But in other races, i have played mind games with myself. Cindy has talked about how she does this with herself also. One of my theories is that in both of those races where i did great, i had nothing to lose, nothing to compare myself against, so i just did the best i could. But in my other 5ks, i now had that standard, and it’s messing with my mind somehow. I’ve got to try to get over that.
In any case, i am still psyched, and i think i’ll sign up for another 5k in the next few weeks, to challenge myself not to play mind games, and to really push it.
April 4th, 2009 6:22 pm
Wow, Audrey, that is awesome. Even for me, doing anything in the 9s for this long of a race is sooo hard and I am just thrilled to hear that you pushed yourself, knowing how hard that can be PHYSICALLY.
I need to learn to find that one person and partner with them. I’m not very good at that and instead, shy away and think “just pass me so I can concentrate now!”
My next goal is to count…just count…to prevent my head from thinking of anything else.
GREAT JOB. I am soooo proud of you!!!
BTW, are you on the Running Shoes Required group on FB? I have been posting a lot of local races there…
April 5th, 2009 8:18 pm
After Easter, we need to run together again. Mostly because I want you to use your GPS watch and map the round-trip distance from my place to Shelly Lake.
I’ve averaging about an hour, so I figure it’s about 4-5 miles.