Race Report for 01/10/10

So the main part of this post will be my Race Report from Sunday's 10K. Since Sunday, I have taken Monday & Tuesday off. Monday was necessary, my quads and hamstrings were killing me. Tuesday, I just didn't get to it...actually I skipped my scheduled lunch time gym workout for fajitas with my husband. Sooooo YUMMY! Tonight (Wednesday-I'm typing after midnight) I went to the gym and did a nice 3.5 mile run. It felt really good and I am feeling relaxed as I get ready for hopefully a very good nights sleep.

So to catch you up to speed, I returned to work full time Monday. Goodness was I dreading it. My now 11 week old had been on a crazy sleep non-schedule and I was getting maybe 3 hours at a time, with a 2 hour wake up then another 2-3 hours. Sure 5-6 hours of sleep is enough to function on, but it sure is hard when it not even 5 hours straight. Well my little bug slept 5 hours straight on Sunday night bless her heart. This meant I was pretty fresh for work Monday. I dropped off my son who had a mommy don't leave crying fit at day care, then had to rush when dropping off my infant for her very first time with non-family care. I guess it was my good fortune because I didn't have time to cry. So this family friend who is watching my little bug completely rocked the party. She kept our bug awake and entertained all day so we got 8+ hours of sleep Monday night. Woo Hoo! Tuesday, REPEAT. Yeah Baby! So while there was a scheduled swim workout Wednesday morning, I skipped it. I truly am coming to understand the value of sleep. That swim workout I missed is available every MON-WED-FRI. Who knows how long this great sleep schedule will last, I need to get caught up while I can.

RACE REPORT 01/10/10 CAL 10K

Pre-Race training:

2 miles roughly every other day with a nice session of Bowling as cross-training the night before. Note to self, get some sleep before a run. Bowling until 11PM almost convinced me to skip the run when I woke up Sunday.

Pre-Race meal:

Night before: 3 Blue Moon Belgian White beers, a philly cheese steak, fries, mozzarella cheese sticks and a shot called a Peanut Butter Jelly Shot. Tasted like a grape jolly rancher. I'm supposed to carbo load right?!

Morning of race:

Woke up and pumped (I am a nursing mom, you can't run with full jugs... just not a good idea)

Ate a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter and drank about 6 oz of water

Race:

I arrived about 25 minutes early (small race) warmed up by running to check-in and running back to the start about 1/4 mile (total)

Start:

Race started at 9:00. It was a flat course on rural roads. My goal was just to finish, I fully anticipated walking since it is my first run post-pardum. I started the GPS on my iPhone and plugged in one ear piece for some tunes and hit the road. I found myself coaching myself each mile marker to try and run without stopping. At the 3-mile marker I looked at my iPhone and it said I was at 38 minutes running a 13 minute mile pace. Sure enough I made it to mile 5 still running. At this point I seriously considered giving up and walking. Then, at the 1/2 mile to the finish mark I again thought about walking. Mentally I knew if I made it 5 1/2 miles, I could finish the full 6.2, but still the thought of walking was still on my mind. As I approached the finish I saw that the clock read 1:14:00. I had hope to come as close to 1:20 as possible and expected to go over even that number. I picked up the pace and finished at 1:14:46. I stopped the GPS on my iPhone and it read 5+ miles. This is a track and field certified course, so I know my phone is off and my 2 mile training runs were probably a little off, as well as my pace. I was clocking 13 minute miles coming into the race and ended up running a 12 minute mile pace.

There was a 10 mile main event and had a field of 192. I was only in the 10K. There were 62 people that showed up for the 10K, 33 were women. I was 26 out of 33 women. There were 6 in my age group 30-34 and I placed 3rd in my group. Overall I placed 52 out of 62. Hey, not being last is a major accomplishment. There are no awards for placing, just long sleeve T-Shirts for those who break 55 minutes. Not sure I'll ever get that fast.

Post-Race

I asked to sit with two women at the free brunch, as I had gone alone. Usually when I am alone I don't linger afterward, but today I wanted to make friends. I sat with a girl, 35, who had a PR and broke 55 minutes. Oddly, she was impressed with me for running so soon after pregnancy. Strange how each of us see accomplishments.

What's next? I'm looking for a few runs in February, but I am signing up for a half marathon in March, the Shamrock'n. Nothing like green beer after a race. I also got my Run Less Run Faster book in the mail yesterday so I am looking forward to that too.