NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL A "RACE"!

Not only I did reach my goal of 56 minutes, I SURPASSED IT!!

 

My official time was 52 minutes, 58 seconds!  What an amazing feeling! Plus, Meghann smoked her goal time, too ("under an hour") and came in a mere one minute after me!

 

I truly cannot believe I paced 8:30-minute miles for 6.2 miles.  I always thought I’d be a 10-minute mile runner.  Before today, my Personal Record (PR) for a 10K was 1 hr, 1 minute in a road race (June 2006) and 1 hr, 1 minute in a trail race (August 2008). It just goes to show that TRAINING PROGAMS WORK! (Here the Original program and the Modified program.)

 

In addition to my training, there were several factors that made this race SO perfect:

 

• It was about 60 degrees outside – not hot or humid AT ALL!
• I was in a really good mood. 🙂
• The course was in beautiful, picture-perfect Celebration, Florida.
• I never, ever let doubt creep into my mind ONCE during the race.  I approached the race KNOWING I would make my goal.

Race Recap

 

I woke up at 5:15, jumped into the shower (to help myself wake up), and got dressed in my gear.  My mom got up early, too (she’s driving home today) and we had breakfast together. 

 

I had oatmeal, coffee, and a big glass of water.  My oatmeal included:

 

• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 sliced banana
• Toppings: brown sugar and granola

I kissed my mom goodbye and drove 15 miles to Celebration.

 

I ran into Meghann in the parking lot and we walked over to the registration tent.  We got our shirts, numbers, and laced our Championship Chips to our sneakers.

Then we met up with a reader, Mary Jo!  Meghann has a cute photo of the three of us.  It was Mary Jo’s first 10K (she’s done some triathlons before)! Mary Jo, we looked for you at the finish line, but we couldn’t find you! I hope you did AWESOME!

 

At the starting line, you have to group yourself by your anticipated pace.  I lined up with the 9-minute milers. 

 

Once the gun went off, I TOOK OFF!  I totally got into the zone — no chatting with Meghann for the first few miles like our last 15K! :)  I focused on warming up my hands and my feet for the first mile (it was cold by Florida standards!).

 

I hit the Mile 1 mark at 8:15 (chip time).  I was pretty impressed, but also very surprised, because the fastest mile I’ve ever run was about 8:15…. on a treadmill…. and I only ran the 1 mile to see how fast I could go.  But, I felt good, my heart rate seemed normal, and I didn’t feel like I was pushing myself TOO hard.  But trust me, I definitely was WORKING IT!

 

I passed Mile 2 at 17:00.  A water station immediately followed the 2-mile marker, so I grabbed a cup and kept running.  I normally walk through water stations because I find it incredibly hard to drink + run, but I figured I needed to go "balls to the wall!"

 

After Mile 2, I started to repeat my mantra.  I KNEW if I let myself doubt my pace for one second, I would slow down and/or freak out.  I repeated "No Doubt! No Doubt! No Doubt!" over and over again.  It give me something else to focus on, and it REALLY helped me maintain my pace.  Running is all mental!

 

I hit Mile 4 at 34:00.  I was ELATED, but didn’t let myself get distracted.  No Doubt! No Doubt! No Doubt!  I choose to walk through the second water station. 

 

At Mile 5, I intentionally slowed to a 9-minute or 9:30-minute mile pace.  Although I wasn’t doubting myself, I wanted to finish strong. 

 

Once I saw the Mile 6 marker, I definitely picked up the pace and PUSHED it to the finish line!  I’m sure the professional race photographer at the end got a race photo of me, because I crossed the line with my arms raised high, tears in my eyes, and whoopin’ in joy!  I COULDN’T BELIEVE THE CLOCK SAID 52:58!!!

 

I waited for Meghann to finish and much to my surprised, she was only a minute behind me! I was so impressed with her time because she guessed she would come in around 1 hour!  WAY TO GO, MEGHANN!

 

I grabbed a banana from the post-race food table….

And then we visited some booth to grab some free goodies and watched the awards get handed out.l

 

Lunch

 

I came home, showered, and relaxed while my VERY early lunch cooked. 

I had about 2/3 cup pinto beans over 1/2 cup (dry) Kashi Pilaf.

And some salt-and-pepper roasted Brussel Sprouts on the side!

Time to veg on the couch for a little bit, and then I’ve got to get down to business – our holistic supplement website launches on TUESDAY!!

 

"If someone hands you rocks, make a bridge, not a wall!"