10k Recap & Kid’s RecapS

(Shoes, shorts, tank)

Back to some race reports again:). I woke up at 5:20 a.m. and ate two slices of bread and a squeeze apple sauce before getting up and taking a shower.  I love taking a shower before races because it actually wakes me up.

I got to the starting line, met up with some friends around 6:10, and did a 3-mile warm-up.  I wore a long sleeve for the warm-up because I was cold, which is not typical for this race because it is usually very hot by now.  I took a caffeine Maurten at 6:40, switched my shoes, drank water and did 4 x 20ish seconds stides a few minutes before the gun went off at 7 am.  It was so fun to have my niece at the starting line, and fun fact–> she is hooked on races now.

The first mile is slightly uphill for about the first .6 and then steep down for .2 and then flattens out for a while.  I did not want to die out there on the course, so I went out at a pace that felt only slightly uncomfortable and made the goal to get more uncomfortable with each mile which ended up being pretty even splits, but keeping about the same pace just hurts more with each mile.

How Andrew made it to two different spots during a 10k with three kids amazes me.  I first saw them at about mile 3 at the top of a hill and then again right before the finish line.  He has this race-spectating thing figured out.  I also had the girls I run with daily out there along the way cheering.  I felt extremely lucky.

I was 6th until about half-way through when I passed 2 girls and then I tried to catch 2nd and 3rd because they were just a few seconds ahead of me but I didn’t quite make it.  It’s so nice to have people ahead of you to try and catch at the end because it keeps you on your toes.

My niece finished in 49 minutes!  Her first official race, and she did amazing and had so much fun.

And my friend, Kassi, WON the marathon for the females.  Amazing.

A few lessons from the race:

1. Letting go of time goals is freeeeeeeeeing.  Time goals have worked for me during different running seasons of life, but lately, they haven’t been…  I’ve been so obsessed with exact race times that I end up not listening to my body and being disappointed with myself.  In the previous few races—> I go out at a pace that corresponds with my time goal rather than listening to my body and doing what it needs to have a strong race.  On Saturday, I listened so closely to where my body was at and went out a bit more conservative (feeling) than usual and not REALLY hurting until the last two miles of the race.  Running what feels right felt so good… I didn’t dig myself in a hole in the beginning because I *thought* I should be able to hit a faster pace and then die the rest of the way.  On Saturday, I was smiling and having the time of my life.  I ran pretty even splits the entire way, which felt like a huge win.  This is my hobby, and if it isn’t fun, then I don’t want to do it and letting go of time goals makes it fun for me and actually run faster (70-second course PR, wahoo).  I still gave it my all, but letting go of numbers helped me to run smart!

2.  I like training in various shoes and racing in my vaporflys.  I felt a noticeable difference when I slipped them on after my w/u on Saturday for the first time since Boston.  Previously, I did every workout in them and did not feel the extra boost on race day.  I felt the extra boost for this race because I haven’t worn them in a while.

3.  I don’t feel like I’m in a place in my life right now where I can recover well enough for super high (for me) mileage weeks.  I’ve cut back and I’ve been doing 50-55ish miles a week lately (still using my awesome coach for all of my training), along with some peloton classes and mastering my pt exercises, and it feels like such a happy combo for me.  I had zero hamstring pain which just felt amazing.  I didn’t feel my glutes working the entire race, but for most of it, I did!

4.  I was in my late luteal phase for the race (aka when I usually run my worst), but I actually felt really strong.  I decided before the race that I wouldn’t think about the phase I was in and that it wouldn’t affect me.  So while I believe hormones affect our running at points, I think it is more mental than anything for me.

5.  I need to avoid trying to start music on my watch during a race.  I wanted to turn it on during the race to get a fun beat in my head but ended up stopping my watch, then lapping it, then changing the screen ha… I finally gave up and remembered I like racing without music a lot too.

6.  Racing is a million times more fun when you aren’t thinking about your dang hamstring the whole time or worrying about making it to the next porta-potty… Boston this year hurt.  Random Q about my Boston bathroom issues… I was regular with vitamins and magnesium for months leading up to the marathon and forgot to pack them for Boston, so I went a few days without them.  Could that have also partly caused bathroom issues?

7.  In the last mile, I was really hurting.  I reminded myself over and over again that this wasn’t actually going to kill me, so I needed to turn off my brain for just a few minutes, and then I could return to being my usual dramatic self again;). It worked.

8.  I love the running community.  I feel so united with so many people at races.  Everyone is cheering each other on and doing something hard… no matter what the pace or distance is, we are all moving forward together.

And now time for the kid’s thoughts on their 1k race!

Brooke:  “I was excited to run but a little bit nervous.  I started out way too fast so I was tired.  There were so many little kids in front of me that I was worried I was going to trip.  At the end, I was ready to have a slushy.  I tried to sprint at the end, but it felt like I was running in slow motion.  Soccer is still my #1.”

Skye:  “I ran the whole time.  And I got a medal, a plastic one.  Umm, Beck got carried by dada.  I wanted to walk, but I wanted to run too.  I run with my dada.  Brooke ran with Mom.  Beck didn’t bring his binky.  I got new running shoes (she didn’t, actually;) and I ran with them on.  That I ran really far.  People took pictures of me.  I got a slushy.”

Beck:  His exact quote when I showed him his race photos–>  “I run race. Ummm I run race with dada.  I run with dada. Mom, I run with dada.  MOOOOM, I run with dada.  Uhhhh, I got that (pointing to the medal).”

He walked around like this afterward to help him recover after such a hard effort.

The free slushy and popsicles will make all the kids who ran on Saturday want to do this every year.

This race puts on quite an event for the whole family!

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Who else raced this weekend?  How did it go?

Any races in your area that put together a great race for everyone?

When you put in a hard effort, and you are standing recovering, do you put your hands on your knees, standing tall with your hands on your head or on your back (like Beck)?

A question from Skye today, “Do you like animals?”