Run 2 Remember 10k Recap

OFFICIAL FINISH TIME: 52:41

PLACE: 9/17, 1st overall female

Last minute decision = First place finish… imagine that…

On Thursday, I was asked if I was interested in racing the Run 2 Remember on Saturday, August 2, 2014. I said “sure,” and was thinking in the back of my mind, “sure, you won’t remember you asked me.” Knowing I had a long bike ride the day before, I wasn’t thinking about running a hard race the next day…. However, a 5:30 am Saturday morning test message reminded me that this race thing was happening. I spent the next 20 minutes fumbling in the dark for running clothes, shoes, hat, sunglasses, iPod, Flipbelt, food, and car keys.

I made it to the race location with 20 minutes to get registered, find a bathroom, say hello to a few friends, and make it to the start line. The race had a small turnout and I hoped I wouldn’t get lost, which has happened before. My iPod was dead (as usual), so I plugged my earphones into my phone and turned on iHeart radio as well as Runkeeper. At the start of the race, I stayed at the back and it took awhile to “wake” up my tired legs from the ride the day before. Somewhere along that first mile I realized it had been over a year since I ran a stand alone 10k. I felt like it took a good 15 minutes to get warmed up before I found my groove.

Around the 3 mile mark, the 5k runners broke away from the 10k runners. There was one gal in front of me and a few fellas. It wasn’t until I was close to mile 5 that I saw the turn around and realized that the gal in front of me was the only gal in front of me. I am not normally competitive, but at that moment I realized if I passed her I could be the first female finisher. As I closed the gap, I tried to hold back on passing out of fear I could not keep the pace.

Mile 5 actually turned out to be my fastest mile of the morning. After passing her, I did not look over my shoulder until the next water station, a half mile later. When I looked over my shoulder, she was right behind me. At 50 minutes, Runkeeper chimed in that I had less than a half mile left to run. I kicked it up the last quarter of a mile and finished in 52:41. The next gal finished 25 seconds after me. Definitely a PR for me and the first time I have ever finished first in a road race.

PRE-RACE NUTRITION: Herbalife Raspberry Tea, 1/2 banana, & EnergyBits

POST-RACE NUTRITION: Orange slices & banana

SPLITS
Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 8:39
Mile 3: 8:31
Mile 4: 8:45
Mile 5: 8:16
Mile 6: 8:49
Mile .2: 8:17 (pace)