What a PERFECT race!!

I BLASTED across the finish line at 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 15 seconds, SMOKING my time at last year’s race by over 4 minutes!  AND, I’m even MORE excited to report that my leg did not bother me AT ALL! Yayyyyyy!

You can read Meghann’s recap on her blog–I don’t want to spoil all the surprises, but let’s just say she ran an AMAZING first 15K and I am super proud!

To summarize, the KEY DIFFERENCES for this year’s race were:

• It was a calm and balmy 70 degrees–not 90 and humid.
• I am much better conditioned and actually ran miles  6 to 9 in 8:30 minutes each, which is my fastest outdoor mile EVER!
• No medics had to make me breathe into a paper bag after I crossed the finish line (yes, I hyperventilated last year).  I actually felt like I wanted to keep running at the end! 🙂
• I’ve learned enough about running to realize I needed a mid-race snack.  This definitely kept my energy UP and allowed me to FINISH STRONG.

But, let’s start at the beginning….

My pre-race breakfast consisted of oatmeal + a sliced banana.  I added a 1/2 tablespoon of PB for some protein.  I also drank a coffee + water.

I was really nervous and a little sleepy (it was only 5 AM!), so I only ate about 2/3.

It was so wonderful of Future Husband to wake up early with me and go to the race.  He is so supportive.  :)  He wins Best Future Husband Award!

We met up with Meghann and her dad and took a few pre-race pictures.  Meghann and I stretched out, and I tried to not feel too nervous about my leg.  I just didn’t know how it was going to go, so I told myself that it would be OK if I had to drop out due to pain.  That made me feel a little better.

The Race!

Meghann and I agreed to pace with each other for the first few miles.  It was a large race and took a while to actually get past the starting line, so our official chip times were 1 minute behind the clock time.

We ran the mile 1.0 in 10 minutes and paced the next 3.0 miles in 10 minutes as well.  We smoked mile 5.0 in 9:30 minutes.  That’s when I decided to eat my mid-race snack…..

GUMMI BEARS!  Yes, gummi bears! I read on another blog that gummi bears were the perfect "poor man’s" mid-race snack, and I must say–they were ideal!  I sealed about 150 calories worth in a plastic bag using a lighter and safety pinned it to the inside of my shorts. 

I felt the simple sugars kick in around mile 6.0, which we clocked in at 59:00 minutes exactly.

At this point, I really wanted to kick it up a notch and started to HAUL BUTT.  Meghann stayed with me for a little bit, but then we separated.  I ran the next three miles in 8:30 minutes and felt like I was FLYYYYYING!  I knew my goal time (1 hr, 26 minutes) was SO CLOSE, and I really wanted to make it!

Suddenly, I heard a volunteer scream, "Only 0.10 mile to go!" and started to SPRINT.  Future Husband was yelling from the sidelines, "GO KATIE, GO!" and it definitely motivated me! 

I got my medal (yayyy) and waited for Meghann to finish.  She came in really strong, too! Check out the action shot:

Post-Race Fun

Since this is such a large regional race, there were tons of post-run festivities, like a kid’s race, face painting, clowns…. but most importantly, there was FREE FOOD! 

First, I hit up the fruit spread and grabbed watermelon and orange slices.

The race was sponsored by Chick-fil-a, so I also had a free fried chicken sammie (which was a-maz-ing post-race fuel!).

And I grabbed TONS of free Larabar and Kashi samples.  Yippeee!

Official Statistics

Here are my stats from my heart rate monitor and my chip device:

• Chip Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes, 15 seconds
• Heart Rate Monitor Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes, 16 seconds
• Average Heart Rate: 169 bpm
• Maximum Heart Rate: 206 bpm
• Calories Burned: 812

All in all, it was a GREAT RACE and I’m proud of myself for improving on last year’s time.  Now, I’m really looking forward to next weekend’s half marathon!  Bring it on! 🙂