Run for the Son 2008!!

Well... today I had my first open run race of the 2008 season!!

I've got to be honest when I say I went in with mixed feelings!

It's a 10K. And that's just not a distance that I feel really comfortable with.... for a lot of reasons! :)

1) I've only raced 4 10k's in my lifetime!! The first two were where I ran the Peachtree Road Race in 2000 and 2001. I think my times were 59:something my first year, and 58:something the second year. Both of these races were run for FUN! You don't RACE the Peachtree Road Race unless you're invited pretty much!! There are seriously THOUSANDS of people who run that race and though they try to seed it, it just doesn't quite work out that way. So I just went out and ran with friends for the fun of it!!

2) The other 2 were inside of triathlons. I did Tugaloo in 2006 and my run split was 51:something. THAT was a super tough one for me!! It was a ton of hills inside a St. Park and I was SOOO not prepared for that race. My other was last year during the Chattahoochee Waterfront Tri, and well I've said before that that run was disastrous!! No food or salt brought me to a 59:00 10k and it's mostly FLAT!!

So... you can kind of see why my confidence level wasn't exactly high for this 10k. :)

THEN.... I'm told, oh this run is SUPER hilly!! I'm like OH GREAT!! Hills!! :( I have 0% confidence on the hills!!

BUT... Jen got me all pumped up!! She fixed it where I went in not totally trashed. We decided to use it as an LT test for me, so my instructions... 80% for the first 1/2 mile, then 100% for the entire rest of the run!! I had a mission... FIND MY HURT BOX!!

That made me nervous! :)

I mean I've been WANTING to push myself, but it's easier said than done!

So yesterday she walked me through dinner-the finish line every step of the way!! We had a nutrition, hydration, pace, everything game plan!!

Races, no matter what distance or goal make me nervous. I don't sleep well the night before. I'm ALWAYS up before the alarm, and my stomach just does that butterfly thing until the gun goes off!!

Well I followed her plan precisely. Lined up with the top runners right near the front, and OFF I went!!

I'm trying to focus on MY level, MY run. It's so tempting to sprint off with the front pack right at the beginning. But I was sticking to my game plan and knew that I just wasn't going to be able to keep up with some of them, so I let them go.

The first section of the race was a short out and back turn around. It headed slightly up hill from the start, which got my hr going! I could feel myself pushing, and then once I got to where I figured I was about 1/2 a mile in, I started pumping it a little harder! I wore my Garmin, but made it where I couldn't see my hr. I was afraid of looking down at the number and getting scared I'd blow up! So I honestly tried to look at my watch as little as possible. I'd check my mile splits, but that was about it! I didn't want to focus on anything but my PE Level. Because the goal was to go all out, and since we were using this to kind of figure out what that was for me exactly... I didn't want any numbers messing with my mind!!

So, we turn around and get back to where we started from about 1.5 miles in. Then the run REALLY begins. There was 3 more long stretches of road to go. 2 Major hills on the first stretch, and then I was TOLD from there it wasn't that bad! HA!! Driving roads does NOT give the hills justice if you ask me. You never really know how steep and nasty some of those hills are until your hr is maxed out and you're running up it begging for the crest!!

So once I hit that first turn... I'm booking it at this point! I try to keep pushing despite the fact that my stomach is already starting to disagree with me. Jen told me that if I wasn't nauseous by mile 4, then I wasn't pushing it hard enough. Well I think sloshy stomach was replaced by nausea at around 2.5-3 miles!! So then I'm like, "CRAP am I going to blow up!!" But I kept hearing her say that I wouldn't. Just to keep fighting, so I did!

The hills weren't quite as bad on the last 2 stretches, but they were there for sure! And there was a decent down hill section as well which my heart greatly appreciated!!

All and All... I finished 48:17!!

My somewhat goal time was to try to come in under 50min. With the hills, my inexperience with the distance, and limited speed training... I knew better than to think I could go out there and do much better.

So even though 48:17 isn't FAST for some!! It was for me today!!

I ended up coming in 2nd in my age-group (which was still 29 for this race!), and I haven't gotten confirming results but I think around 5th or 6th woman overall. So, it was good and I was happy!!

Why???... Because I went out and did EXACTLY what I was supposed to!! I followed Jen's plan to the T, came in under my semi-goal, got the info Jen needed to plan my hr from here on out, and PUSHED myself to the point that I thought I WAS going to puke at the end!!

What does that mean from here... HOPEFULLY, I'll get FASTER and FASTER and come St. Anthony's and Florida 70.3, which are flat runs, I'll PR all year!!

Thank you so much to EVERYONE for your support!! I thought about Jen telling me to "GO. GO. GO!!", the HTFU crew!!, and All my blogger friends out there rooting for me today! You guys are the best!!

2008 BRING IT ON!!

K :)