Great Lakes Expo 10K Run...Check!

Hiii!  So it's been forever again since I last wrote.  My bad.  There just never seems to be enough time or when I do find time I'm reminded of how I still don't have my own laptop (goal is to still buy one by end of April!).  I swear, I don't know how true bloggers find time to write EVERY DAY!  So this post will be another recap of my past week of work outs PLUS an update on my latest 10K. 

Monday, Jan 24th
32 mins of Total Body on the Elliptical at level 8
32 mins of Random Hills on the bike at level 10
30 mins of strength


Tuesday, Jan 25th
ran 4.35 miles on the Treadmill

Wednesday, Jan 26th
15 mins of Total Body on the Elliptical at level 10
2.2 miles on the Treadmill

Thursday, Jan 27th
REST


Friday, Jan 28th
2.01 miles outside

Saturday, Jan 29th
REST

Sunday, Jan 30th
10K RACE DAY!!

Race day was here.  I was EXTREMELY nervous/anxious/scared all at the same time since I hadn't ran 6 (or even 5!) miles since the last 10K a whole month ago.  But I felt mentally prepared for this challenge.  I laid all my clothes out the night before.  Made a decision to lose one layer up top since I've been uncomfortable/getting warm the last few times I ran outside.  Got directions to the race.  Looked up and studied the race route so no big surprises awaited me.  Ate a Carb-loaded dinner.  And went to bed earlier than usual.  I should also note that I had a lot of self control this weekend since we had Kara's big-Beiber-birthday Bash Friday night.  I knew I had to limit myself of adult beverages and 25 cent wontons to not make the race any worse for myself than I was already anticipating it to be. 

Race morning was chilly- 22 degrees and that is what it would remain for the duration of the race.  There was a light wind, the sky was clear and the roads- for the most part- bare.  I got to the race an hour early so I could stretch, go to the bathroom and had plenty of time to walk .4 miles to the starting line.  The crowd for the 10K was not nearly as large as it was the last race.  Probably about 250 people this time.  Part of that had to do with the 5K starting 40 mins before the 10K to avoid over crowded trails.  So after seeing the small-er crowd I began to pray that I do not finish DEAD LAST! 

Once the gun shot, I felt good and ready to do this.  I tried to remain as hopeful/positive/optimistic as possible.  The first mile began and the group began to spread out with some disappearing way off into the distance ahead of me while there were a few others trailing behind.  I felt good once I saw the first mile marker.  1 down and 5 more to go!  Then mile 2 began to feel extremely looong.  I knew that we got to loop back and head towards the start once I hit mile 2 so maybe all my anticipation made it seem a lot longer than it actually was.  Then mile 2 came.  And mile 3 came.  And I realized I knew I had to do this entire 3 mile loop again BUT I remained positive about it.  And I still actually felt pretty good.  I wasn't dying of exhaustion yet.  Then mile 4 seemed ridiculously long again.  But then before I knew it I passed the 5 mile marker.  1 MORE TO GO!  At this time I was starting to get the urge to want to walk a bit BUT I didn't!  I hung in there.  If I made it this far there's no way I could give up and walk now.  Then before you knew it I crossed the finish line at 1:04:18!  And I was shocked!  This was almost 4 whole minutes off of my time from my last 10K!!  And I didn't think I was going any faster than I usually run.  In fact I could've sworn this race's time would be worse than last times because I wasn't feeling so tired and I didn't feel like I was going fast (or my version of fast which is prob pretty slow for most runners).  So I was really, really happy with my results.  Plus Brad was there at the Finish line taking pics of me and Vanessa (which are extremely unflattering so I will NOT be posting them) and it's always nice to know you have people there rooting for you.  I mean, these runs have been HUGE accomplishments for Vanessa and myself!  It's fun to share the experience with others. 

So here I am a day after the race still feeling really pleased with my results from yesterday.  And if anything I just feel more motivated now to begin my Half Marathon Training Program.  I'm still ironing out some of the deets but once I have it finalized I'll post it.  I definitely could not have ran another 7 miles after yesterday's race but now I'm beginning to think that it's definitely a possibility in the distant future (meaning May 1st, hopefully!). 

As for the rest of my week, I was going to take a night off tonight and recover from the race.  I'm definitely feeling it in my knees and calves today.  BUT we're under a Severe Winter Advisory until tomorrow and then a Blizzard Watch until Wednesday so if I don't go to the gym tonight I might not be able to get there for a few days.  So tonight I'm hoping to get some good stretching in, some light cardio, and focus more on upper body strength exercises. 

Ok, lunch is over.  Back to work I go.  Until next time!