Up until today....the 10k was my absolute LEAST favorite race. The first one I ran,the Critz Preservation 10k,was god awful. I started out too fast...dressed too warm...ended up walking...got beat by my arch rival..it was BAD! It left this NASTY aftertaste in my mouth of 10k's. I knew I wanted to do it again..and dispell all negativity of this distance in my head...but the time never came...until TODAY!
The story?....Woke up...POURING RAIN! 40 degrees and absolutely pouring (funny how the last st. pattys race I did started out this way as well). I got dressed, went and got my free breakfast, and off I went. It was fun watching the 5k guys finish and I sorta got those chills that races give you sometimes. You know..the ones where you are all excited...yet nervous..yet happy...and you just feel soooo good about being a runner. As I was lost in the moment...I see "her". Who is "her"?? The one that I decided I MUST beat! Why you might ask? Because her pants didn't fit right. Yes I said it. They weren't capris...they weren't pants...you know the ones that hit right at your ankle!? Its like WTF were you thinking when you bought those? sorta like these..but they were running pants (and not tights...tights would be fine)
So anyway...it wasnt just the pants....she also had this snotty look on her face like she was super cocky. There was something about "her" that I just couldnt stand and decided I MUST beat her (having no idea what kind of pace she ran...coulda ran 6 min miles for all I knew).
The race starts and we immediately start doing the hill thing. Ughhh....one reason I couldn't live in ATL...just toooooo many hills. Once the congestion settles out...I look up the hill and I see "her". Wow I think to myself....we seem to be on similar paces. This race was a double loop 10k meaning you ran the course twice. I felt mentally this could be challenging as I would want to stop at the 5k mark (this never happened)..and surprisingly..I liked it! After running the first loop I sorta knew were the hills were and when I was 'home free' to really pick it up. I think I might keep this in mind for future races...double loops can actually help you since you know the course. ANyway...back to the race.
The first 3 miles went by pretty good...the hills slowed me down a lot...but then I would pick it back up as soon as I felt my breathing was back under control. Every once in a while I would look up and see "her" up there in her little flood pants and pink hat. She was a good 500 feet in front of me the whole time. I noticed I would gain on her on the hills...but then that little brat would pick up speed on the downhills and still be way out in front. This made me even more mad..because I knew that I was beating her on the hills.
As we made our second loop around I started to try and pick it up a bit. I kept thinking of Beth and the one race where she kept repeating "Turn..O..Ver....Turn..O...Ver.." I started doing it too..and it helped keep my feet goin. I kept looking down and I could tell my pace was getting faster...at one point the Garmy said 8:48..which made me SUPER happy and I realized I was running a negative split. Also I had downloaded a bunch of music for the race and never got to it. Made me realize how short a 10k is..haha.
So were onto the final stretch..I keep trying to pick up the pace but I CANNOT gain any speed on this "her". HOW ANNOYING! My lungs are startin to burn a little and I see a little water stop. I decided to stop and walk 2 steps to actually swallow the water so I wouldn't choke and get out of breath. It definitely cost me though because "her" gained ground on me...SHIT! I started to feel a little hopeless...I didn't think I could do it. Then all my mind kept saying is "My Dad would be SOOO proud if I could "chick" this girl..." Luckily they set it up so the finish is a downhill....as I'm running down the hill there is 'her', this other kinda chubby girl in pink I had been battling with..then me. I kept thinking "i'm going to finish one person behind "her"..this sucksss!!!" All of a sudden I took off like a bat out of hell..blew by "chubby pink"...blew by "her"...and crossed the finish line with the BIGGEST smile EVER!
My time was 55:14 which is an 8:55 pace. But that is MORE than 3 min PR!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!
I got 10/35 for my age group
215/577 overall
mile 1: 8:59
mile 2: 8:53
mile 3: 8:36
mile 4: 8:53
mile 5: 9:01
mile 6: 8:07
not sure on the last .2
I like 10ks :) :) :)....all rumors are dismissed. I also seem to do well in St. Pattys Races that are raining...I'll keep this in mind. I feel great...for getting such a big PR...running hard...and getting a chance to "chick" someone. Also I talked to "her" after the race and said she was an awesome pacer..she turned out to be really nice and not snotty at all...go figure.
Me before the race doing my "Lets get ready to rumble!"...and showing proof that I have indeed been flexing a lot in the mirror....haha
Live in a hotel..you will too...
12 comments:
CONCRATS, WOW!!!!!!.
Rinus.
www.rinusrunning.punt.nl
Hi Christine
As I was reading your race report, I was like "Go get that b#tch already!". You really got me fired up. I honestly can't stand people who have that snotty look before a race. In my experience, they are usually nasty people and need to have someone like you go blowing by them at the end to show them how it is done.
Huge congrats and great pretty much 8 flat 6th mile. You were flying.
Great Job, Christine!!!
Congratulations on the PR! I pick off people too. (we all do it, we just don't all admit it) This morning it was a lady in harlequin tights. I'm sure she is super nice, but I couldn't let "pants" beat me. (and she didn't!)
Ahhh! What an exciting race report! Great work.
Awesome job on the PR!
Great job.
Nice finish sprint.
Congrats!!! Great job!
Great race! 3 mins is a nice pr, too. glad you pulled out a good one. you get used to the hills after a while of running down here. i've never seen hills in atlanta like the ones i live near a mere couple of hours up i-85. i hate hills.
Congrats on your PR! I found your blog because I googled "10k PR" just trying to decide what my goal should be and your blog was the first on the search results. Great race story! (I always pick someone to beat, too. It's in our competitive nature as runners I think.) I ran a 10k this morning in 59:19 and I think my new goal will be to get under 56:00. Congrats again!
Yay for PRS!!!! I LOVEEE getting them but that's amazing!!
Haha and I totally laughed when you described that other girl. I'd wanna beat her ass too!! ;)
Awesome!!! Congratulations!! You are a great runner & you sure can run a fast 10K!
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