Run Into The New Year 10K!

Well ladies and gents, my first 10K is complete!  It was NOT an easy task but I was able to accomplish it and end 2010 by running my first 6.2 miles.

I was extremely nervous going into Friday's run.  I didn't get the greatest night of sleep prior to the run because I kept having dreams that I was going to sleep late and miss the race.  AND the race didn't even start until noon so considering I haven't slept in that late since college it was very unlikely that I would have slept through it.  Then Friday morning I woke up and had 2 pieces of toast about two hours before the run. After that it was time to get dressed.  As predicted, it was extremely warm out for a December day in Wisconsin: 55 degrees!!  So despite all my training in the frigid temps preparing myself for the worst running conditions, it was complete opposite- warm, overcast, light rain at times and absolutely no snow.  I was now faced with a dilemma, what do I wear?!  Surely, I could not wear all my usual layers because I would roast to death.  So I started stripping down the layers.  Got rid of the hat, gloves, fleece and windbreaker pants leaving only my dri fit running tights, tall socks, shoes, dri fit tank, l/s Run Into The New Year shirt and light weight zip up hoodie.  And to be honest with you, this was still too many layers.  I should have lost one more layer up top.  By the time I reached my first mile I was itching to shed a layer but had nowhere to put it and I was definitely not going to leave my hard earned Nike hoodie on the side of the road and call it a day.  So I had to suck it up and learn from my mistake.

Now, for the running details.  The course was broken into a 3.14 mile loop that you ran twice if doing the 10K option.  It was primarily flat with real minor inclines towards the end of mile 3 and 6.  Over 1,800 people signed up to race that day so the course was pretty full at times.  I started off running at a pretty slow pace because I was so worried that I'd overdo it at the beginning and not have enough energy to finish.  Once I saw how slow my first mile was I knew I needed to try and pick up the pace a little bit. This is when I began to feel fatigued ALREADY and I was only in my second mile.  I knew I still had a long way to go so I tried to get lost in my music and just run.  As we were approaching the end of mile 3 you better believe I had thoughts of being like, "screw the 10K, I should just finish and pretend I thought I signed up for the 5k!"  BUT I didn't do that, as everyone was cheering for the finishers I began my second lap.  Mile 4 felt extremely long and lonely!  There weren't too many people ahead of me to look at.  I could still see Vanessa a few feet ahead of me but that was it.  It was weird how by this time a race of 1,800 people felt so empty compared to when we first started.  Once I hit mile 5, I was happy because I had made it this far and was almost done.  I felt a bit sluggish and my calves were cramping a tiny bit but I wasn't giving up.  No walking allowed.  Then finally I hit the 6 mile marker and I knew the finish line awaited me around the corner.  I tried to muster up any energy I had left inside of me to try and run the last 2 blocks as quick as I could and I finished my first 10K in 1:08:24.

I was relieved to be done.  And was pretty content with my time.  I didn't really have a goal time in mind, I more so just wanted to complete the entire 6.2 miles without walking.  And I DID IT!

Now I have a time that I can work on beating in the future.  I think Vanessa and I are going to do the 10K route for the Great Lakes Expo Run at the end of January.  So I have decided to take a few days off of running and enjoy the first few days of the New Year by relaxing, watching football and indulging in some good food.  Then starting Monday I'm going to attempt to pay attention to my diet more.  I've been eating so much crap and loving it but hating it at the same time.  It tastes so good at the time but I can feel what it does to my body and it really adds to that sluggish feeling I'm getting while running.  So as I venture into my first week of low carb, healthy eating I hope to do some light runs as well as cross training.  I think this is another area that I can really improve on.  I may be doing well at running 3x or so a week but I need to do more if I want to achieve better overall fitness.  I'm not sure what I'll do yet, I've got some ideas but I know I need to be a lot more disciplined.  Last year at this time I began my INSANITY craze so maybe I'll do that again a few days a week?!  We'll see...that's some pretty intense stuff.  Whatever I chose, I'll be sure to write about it so def stay tuned!  And if any of you have suggestions for workouts please let me know!  I love trying new things and if it worked for you, all the better reason to try it!

Alrighty, that's it for now.  Until next time!

Ahhh!  I almost forgot!  I don't know what got into me but I signed up for my first official Half Marathon!!  I'll be attempting to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon with my family this upcoming May!!