What's Next?

Leading up to Fargo half, I suspected that race day wouldn't be a 100% effort for me. To mitigate my disappointment, I started to think of a back up plan if that was the case. I had planned to do a 10k for fun-ish in early June, and have since decided that it'll be my official substitute goal race for the spring (even though that's probably summer at that point). My marathon training will start in later June, so this gives me an opportunity to still have another attempt to post a race time that'll help me project a fall marathon goal race time.

Now fingers crossed that it doesn't feel like summer on race day! If so, I may drop to the 5k, which would still be fun.

There's also a 5k the following weekend in my little town that features bacon and bloody Mary's post race. And the money goes to help with Junior Achievement. So why not race on back to back weekends? My thoughts exactly!

And THEN Strava and NYRR announced a 1 mile virtual race challenge. Well that sounds like fun too. So sometime during this 8 day span, I'd also like to do a 1 mile time trial. LOLZ. This'll either be the most fun 8 days or the worst idea I've ever had.

Stay tuned.

Race Report: Banquet 10k

It was perfect race weather the morning of the 10k; so nice that I debated wearing a jacket for the race, because it was a little chilly. Lucky for me, and my super sweaty soaked self, I opted to ditch it before the race. Phew. I didn't get in my warm up, or any stretches, leg swings, nada. In fact, I didn't know where the start line was when a person with a hand speaker started saying incomprehensible things toward the crowd. Until I realized that it was the start, and we were to go. Ok then!

When I got to the corner that the guy was on, I started my watch. As a no frills, no timing, donation-based event I was cool with the laidback nature, but as I approached people going two different directions I realized I didn't know which why I was supposed to go. Luckily some guys instructed me to go left. From there I knew it'd be an out and back, so easy peasy. Others weren't as lucky as they were trotting along with us only to realize that they were planning to do the 5k and that we weren't doing a double loop as has been done in the past. Oops!

Prior to the race, I had messaged my buddy Jacqueline to see if maybe I could pace off of her for the race. She wanted to know what I was thinking I could/would run, and I said 8:40s maybe 8:30s. I also slipped in that if I was having a super excellent day, maybe 8:20s (as some race calculators have predicted off of a speedy 3 mile this fall). She let me know that she usually starts slower and speeds up and I said that was my usual plan as well, but I've sucked at doing lately. I saw her before the race, but after the weird start, I just ran.

Mile 1 8:33

Mile one felt good but I usually slow down after that first mile, so I mentally prepared for this race to be in the 8:40s. Which would still be awesome! I ran a 5k in the 8:40s this summer, two maybe even. And my 5 mile last spring was 8:50 pace. Around mile 2 Jacqueline and her friend ran up on me. And were chatting away. And tried to engage me in chatting. Sorry ladies, this is far too fast for me to converse during.

Mile 2 8:37

They went ahead of me shortly and I tucked in behind them, and I was surprised to see that our pace was picking up but I was still feeling just as good. Hmm..... It was during this mile that I like to distract myself during an out and back race by counting places. Just shy of the turn around I was in 5th place for females and 25th overall.

Mile 3 8:35

We hit the turn around and I was shocked at how good I was feeling. I failed to look at my watch at the turn around so I wasn't sure what my overall time was going to look like, or if the course was long/short, which is probably for the best (foreshadowing).

Usually miles 4 and 5 of a 10k are the worst because you've hit the turn around but all of that fatigue starts to hit your legs and you feel like you're the weight of an elephant. But nope, not today. I started to realize that I was running on my buddies heels, and that I needed to go around them because I was feeling GOOD.

Mile 4 8:35

(Did somebody order some super consistent splits or what??)

I told the ladies I was going to push the final two miles because I refused to let mile 5 be the shit show that it typically is, and they told me to go on ahead. I knew that Jacqueline wouldn't let me go, because she has the same competitive brain that I do, so that kept me pushing ahead. Despite running my fastest mile split of the day, I still had tons of people pass me this mile. I actually lost track, but a few women and quite a few men flew by like they were just out for a jog. I guess maybe they were out for a jog since no one had bibs on, but it was such a huge crowd and so disorganized at the start, I'm guessing they just started out way behind or accidentally went with the 5kers at the start.

Mile 5 8:27

During the final mile, my friends again passed me, and I vowed to stick to them like glue knowing they'd help me along for a nice finishing sprint. I kept calculating my final time based on an 8:30 pace, but then couldn't really think of what a good 10k finishing time was. Derp. I was following my friends and working so hard that my brain said "I think they all missed the turn for the finish" my brain responded "they've done this race for years! surely they know!" I caught up to them when they realized their mistake and I hauled up 3 flights of stairs to make up ground and get back on track. So much for that 8:30 pace. Grumble.

Mile 6 8:36

I knew my race was going to be over 6.2, but I wasn't sure how much and I was getting tired. And now there wasn't any one in front of me to chase. And I knew we started on a nice little downhill, so the opposite was my finishing stretch. I noticed a few people walking from the 5k looking at me funny when I was crossing the train tracks, and just after I crossed them I realized there was a train coming right toward me. Uff. 

.33 2:42 (8:09 pace, 7:20 max pace)

I finished the 6.33 miles in 54:08 for a pace of 8:33.

It felt so good to run so strong, and mentally be in the race. 10ks are SO HARD. And will always be the hardest race distance in my opinion. 5ks you can hurt for 23-24 minutes, nbd, half marathons you pace yourself so really only that last 40-50 minutes is hard, but a 10k is that crazy all out mentally tough distance. And I'm so excited at how I did!

This 10k is tied for the second fastest 10k pace ever, which was on a short course (like almost a half mile shorter than this course) so I'm excited for this to be my last race of 2017 (and as a 33 year old!) and to lead into the 2018 year.

P.S. Did I use the word excited enough? Because...uh... yeah. I am.

Race Report: Lennox Firecracker 10k

I had put off signing up for the Lennox Firecracker 10k until the morning of the race, because I wanted to see what the temperature held for the morning. I probably should've opted for the 5k based on the 91% humidity, but I wanted to get in a hard effort 10k to give me an idea of where my speed and endurance was leading into half marathon training.

I had hoped to be around 8:50 pace for the race. Spoiler alert: that didn't happen.

The firecracker went off, but since it went off at the start of the 1 mile/2 mile/5k and the 10k were lined up an opposite way, we were all a bit jostled when our starter just shouted out "Uh you should go now!" and we all took off.

There was a much smaller group for the 10k than normal, and I found myself all by my lonesome before we got to mile one.

Mile 1 9:02

I focused on trying to keep an even pace and not slowing down too much.

Mile 2 9:09

I did a decent job of that until we hit the portion on gravel during the 4th mile.

Mile 3 9:09

Mile 4 9:22

During this point I found a couple of people to chase, so I focused on the backs of their shirts to not fade any further.

Mile 5 9:21

I passed two of the three folks I was chasing during the final mile, but got very annoyed at the traffic on the open road. There was an SUV that literally ran me off the road because someone else was running in the middle of the road ahead of me, and I was hugging the curb. I ended up having to hop up on the sidewalk to pass the vehicle and dodge him. My final mile reflected how hard I worked in the last mile with my fastest split of the day.

Mile 6 8:57

The course ended up being a little bit short with my watch showing 6.06 miles. I heard that the 5k was .1 long, so it kind of averages out with the humidity and running twice as long, right? :P

I finished the race in 55:25 for a pace of 9:09.



More importantly, my nephew Harrison was in South Dakota and ran his very first 5k. So proud!!

 

Spring Race Plan

After a very lackluster running schedule, I opted to DNS the Houston Half Marathon. Bye bye $$$. :( Given how painful the Bemidji Marathon was while fairly prepared, I can only imagine how brutal a half marathon would be given my current running base (little to nothing). I'm truly enjoying yoga all day everyday, so I'm going to continue with that and run when I want to.

With that being said, my plan for this spring is to start back at the beginning (kinda)! Whenever I've "got back into running" I've always focused on a 5k race to shoot for. I know I'm doing great things for my body and my future running self, by strengthening areas that have given me trouble (glutes) and gaining flexibility in others (uh, everywhere, but hips especially). 

While I'm going to continue to go to yoga classes as much as humanly possible, I'd like to also start with shorter runs, lower weekly mileage, and re-introducing speed, essentially working from the ground up again. I'm hoping that by keeping my mileage low, and my goal races shorter, I can really work on keeping my form in check and find a balance between all the yoga and running.

My plan for this spring is as follows:

• 1/31/15 Frostbite Four (weather permitting). I've always wanted to run this race. It's a 4 miler in a town about 30 minutes south of me. They have multiple race routes plotted out and choose the route the morning of the race based on the direction of the wind. I think this race would be a good baseline indicator for me on a hard effort 4 miler. If it's ridiculously cold, I'll probably just go to a yoga class instead. Let's be honest. :)
• 3/14/15 Free Rebel Run 5k. I ran this 5k last year and had a blast. It's free/donation based and on one of my favorite parts of the bike trail. This is my first "goal" race of the spring. "Goal" being a loose term, but I'm going to attempt to add running back into my routine 3x/week with one speed session with a speedy-ish 5k time on this day as the game plan.
• 6/13/15 Harrisburg 10k. I love 10ks and look to have a crazy busy spring ahead of me as far as weekends are concerned, so this would be my next weekend free (insane!) in which there's a race nearby. 
• 6/19/15 Longest Day 10k (?). I have this Friday off, so if it's not a trillion degrees I may head up to Brookings and convince Megan to come run with me. :)
• 7/4/15 Firecracker 10k/5k (weather dependent). I love this race. I ran my 2nd fastest 10k there last summer. But I've also ran my 10k PW there on a hotter/more humid day. If it's gross out, I'll only make myself suffer through 5k. 
• 9/13/15 Sioux Falls half marathon. Shortly after the Firecracker race, it'll be time to start training for my 11th consecutive Sioux Falls half marathon! Wouldn't it be neat if taking things slow and steady all year long lead to a breakthrough race in September?? I wouldn't be mad... ;)

So obviously a spring marathon is out of the cards, as I had previously mentioned that Grandma's Marathon might be an option, and maybe 2015 will be the first year since I started running marathons that I won't toe the line for 26.2 miles. We'll see. There's still a little time that one could be snuck in if I feel the itch! :)

Race Report: Lennox Firecracker 10k

Friday morning, I woke up for the Lennox 10k and wished I wasn't running. My stomach was beyond angry and I couldn't calm it down. We got to the race and I strongly considered signing up for the 5k, but I convinced myself to do the 10k. Because of my stomach problems, I didn't get in as long of a warm up jog as I was hoping for. I did squeak in a half mile and that left me with time to do leg swings, form drills, and glute exercises, followed by a couple of striders.

It was time for the race and the set up was really wonky. The 10k was starting with the 5k/2 mile/1 mile at our backs going in the opposite direction. They had the starting gun at the front of that group instead of the 10k, so when the gun sounded, we all stood around until someone shouted at us "That's you guys! GO!" Oh ok, I started my garmin right when I crossed the starting line.

I planned to go out in an 8:40 pace, so when I looked down and saw a 7:20, I reeled myself in. I couldn't believe how many people were still flying by me at that pace. Is everyone planning to run a sub 7:30 pace? I'll just be back here bringing up the rear I guess. (After looking at the results, yup! I pretty much brought up the rear, yet my 10k pace would've won at AG award for a 5k. Whatevs.)

Mile 1 8:36

I felt pretty comfortable during the first mile and thought that maybe I could hold that 8:30-8:40 pace for the duration of the race! There were a few people spaced out in front of me, so I just set my sights on slowly catching up to them. The race route was just a loop around the country surrounding the city so it was pretty boring, but it was nice and flat.

Mile 2 8:26

Well alright, speeding up a bit and still feeling good. I found myself slowly creeping up on another small group of people and just set my sights on them. I told myself that I was gaining speed and they were getting tired.

Mile 3 8:27

I did a little math and realized if I could keep it up, I could run a 52:xx like Kyle had predicted. Well damn if that boy doesn't know his stuff! Mile four the wind was at my back so I started to feel HOT. There was a water station so I chugged half a glass and dumped the other half on my head. Ahhhhh.

Mile 4 8:34

I lost some steam in mile four and mile five brought the dreaded gravel mile. Uff. Luckily I only had 2.2 miles left (what I kept telling myself) and I knew I could keep pushing and not blow up. I haven't had that sort of confidence or realization before or during a race in a long time, so it's nice to be in tune with my abilities. I had been chasing a guy most of the gravel section and finally caught up to him. Thank goodness he was my rabbit during that section so I didn't slow down and throw in the towel.

Mile 5 8:51

With a slower gravel mile, I knew I really had to kick it up the final 1.2 miles to come in under 53 minutes. I was all by myself so I tried to just put my head down and push. When my watch hit 5.7 miles I told myself I had four minutes to haul booty to the finish line. I also thought "shoot! There haven't been any mile markers. For all you know, you're way over (like usual) and will just miss 53!" 

Mile 6 8:22

As I got closer to the school I realized that the course might actually be a bit short. Once I saw the finish line I had a full dead sprint because I was expecting to have another .1 to go!

Look! No heel strike here!!!

I hit the finish line in 51:41 for a pace of 8:20 for a full 6.2. By my estimation on the regular course distance, based on my pace and finishing speed, I would've likely run around a 52:20, which is still well under my A goal. WAHOO!!

Running my second fastest 10k at the beginning of marathon training just has me even more excited to knock this training cycle out of the park. PRs are gonna roll, yo.

Since I signed up race morning, on a piece of paper, I somehow got in the results as Jerry, a 30 year old male, so I'm happy I didn't win an AG award as a female, because we jetted off to the cabin shortly after the race was done. No time to argue. :)

10k Scratch

I had originally planned to race a 10k tomorrow. Which would be my third race in three weekends. For someone who's injury prone, they sure didn't think that planning through, did they? I've been planning to try to run the automatic qualifying time to gain a guaranteed entry to the Houston Marathon, and knew I wasn't going to hit a 1:52 in either of my halfs, and thought maybe, juuuuuust maybe, I could run the 51 minute 10k requirement.

Once the race got closer I realized that I'd have a shot of running the time on fresh, recovered legs, but not on legs that are one week post-half marathon. Since the Brookings half was my goal race for the spring, I decided to scrap the 10k. My stupid luck, I'd try to run the 10k time, fail AND hurt myself. Nope nope nope.

So I'll be entering the lottery like lots of other schmucks and hoping for the best.

But fear not.

There is a 10k that I'm setting my sights on for mid-June as my last spring (uff that's technically summer, huh? Or no..... wait! Only after the 22nd?? Seasons are HARD) hard effort race. Which means more dates at the track working on mah speedz. Whoop! So maybe I'll get that sub 52 this spring anyway. ;)

AND THEN MARATHON TRAINING STARTS. ERMAHGAHHHHD.

10k Race Pics and En Route to Madison

Today I'm en route to Madison, Wisconsin for the Madison Marathon, and more importantly TO SEE KRISTA, RENEE, AND JEN! I feel like I've known Krista and Renee for roughly a million years, but we've never actually met in person, which is weird, I guess. Jen and I met up in Vegas a few years back, and she's so sweet and awesome, she would've been even more awesome if she had come and talked to me at Curly's Pub when I was eating at the bar all by my lonesome for my first marathon, but whatevs, I've totally forgiven her for that (#stillholdingagrudge).

I've always felt like I belong in Wisconsin (or Oregon, if we're being completely honest), and prior to landing my current job at my dream South Dakota library, I was constantly following Wisconsin library job postings. I'd like to think that if I someday get my wish and end up in Packers country, I'll get to run with these girls (and watch many Packers games whilst drinking Spotted Cow and eating cheese curds, yes I am 20 lbs. heavier in this scenario, thanks for asking!) as much as I'd want, aka all the time.

Krista is going to dominate the full and is sweet enough to let me crash at her place and be my "host" for the weekend. She's also NaNoWriMo-ing so there may be moments of writing furiously while I'm there. There's also talks of visiting a newly remodeled library, be still my beating heart! (P.S. Ask me post-race what my finishing prediction time is for K-bug, I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm right!)

Jen and Renee are going to be spectators extraordinaire, and I've already put in a bazillion requests to Renee, they are as follows:

1) Jordy Nelson
2) Your garmin, in the event it's a cloudy day and my battery dies asap
3) Spotted Cow beer (preferably snuck in to the post-race finishers chute. The post-race beer selection is less than appealing. Bonus points for dixie cups of it along the course...just sayin'....)

I think that was it! Just a small list... NBD.

I've also analyzed the course map and written down mile markers that I plan to "suggest" that they cheer at. I'M BOSSY THIS IS WHAT I DO. But really I did it with them in mind as well, I wanted them to be at spots that I *think* would be easy to see us quickly at another spot on the course as well. We'll see since they obviously know the area a lot better than I do. I'm just looking forward to having race spectators on the course for a full this has never happened before!! 

Ok, that's enough race obsessing.

No wait! It isn't. I have a cold. That should be neat. It was knocking on my immune systems door last week and I finally came down with it on Saturday, basically thought I was dying. I said, that's cool, make yourself at home for 72 hours, and then you're out on your ass, cold. Well, unless this cold is TERRIBLE AT MATH, it has severely overstayed its welcome. Thank goodness I'm not in PR shape, or I'd be freaking the eff out.

Ok, now THAT'S enough race obsessing. On to the pics!

The 10k race I did 2 weekends ago posted 500 photos to their facebook page this week. I decided to pan through them to see if I could spot a flash of green. Even better than a green frog were these two:

I die of preciousness.

Even more so if Kyle had been dressed as a storm trooper or darth vader or something.

You can almost see the "Go Mom Go #teamgreen" Conversation bubble hovering over their heads, right??!?!?

This one was shortly after the start, and I look fast, which is neat. This was certainly the portion when I was all "Wheeee sub 7 pace is super eeeeeeeasy!" lolz.

And then you might end up letting Pi beat you to the finish because of that sub 7 pace start. But in my defense, this chick passed me around mile 4, and I reeled her in big time that last mile and a half. She's actually the reason I hit sub 7 paces at the finish. Competitive Jeri FTW (except not the win, obvs.)

And this is just all sorts of LOLZ. Running hard is hard, you guys....

Race Report: Trick or Treat Trail Run 10k

I woke up Saturday morning after going to bed way too late for a race eve.  Luckily the race wasn't scheduled to start until 10am.  I ate breakfast and did my hip exercises, foam rolling, stretching, hip flexor stretches, and finally woke up Kyle and Ollie to head to the race start.  I did a half mile warm up with some striders and then it was time to start.

I was the only one wearing shorts and a tank, so I win that category I guess.  I started toward the front because NO ONE was going up to the front.  It was weird.  There were probably 3 girls at the front front, otherwise no one was even close to the start.  The race is chip timed, but it's gun chip timed (does that even make sense?) so I didn't want a ton of extra time from starting at the back.  Also, there were a TON of runners, and a skinny path to race on.

We started and I felt good and fast.  I settled in to a comfortably hard pace pretty easy on.  Jenn wanted me to run without my garmin because she's convinced I'm faster than I think I am (spoiler:  I'm not) so I compromised by ignoring my watch for the first while.  My first mile clocked at 8:32.  Oops.  After consulting my garmin info, my max pace was 6:39.  LOLZ.  Pacing, I haz none.

I could feel my legs slowing and getting heavier during mile one, so I wasn't surprised when mile two was slower, but I wasn't expected to run it that slow.  Mile 2 was 8:58.

Mile three and four stunk.  My legs felt like poo, and I kept getting passed.  During mile three I started to see the leaders fly by going the opposite direction since it was an out and back.  I kept myself busy counting chicks to see what place I was in.  At the turn around, I was 26, which is my lucky number.  Wahoo!  Before too long I was 31.  Womp.  Mile 3 was 9:01, Mile 4 was 9:07.

I finally got my mind straight the final two miles and realized I only had about 20 minutes left of hard running to do, and if I didn't kick it in, I was going to run slower than I did in June, when I was just getting back in to running.  I started slowly picking off the gals that had passed me in mile 4.  Mile 5 was 8:59.

The final mile I just tried to haul as best as I could, and I was really invigorated by catching up to people (as terrible as that sounds).  I forget how nice it is to race in a race, that extra little competitive edge really helps the final miles when you're just ready to be DONE.  Mile 6 was 8:49.

I had started to run "all out" or as all out as I could muster at about 5.7 because I thought I could run a 4 minute half mile to finish close to 55 minutes.  There were a few more girls I was chasing down that had passed me in miles 3 and 4, so I kept them in my sights.  My final .24 was 1:48 for a 7:27 pace, and a max pace of 6:40.

My final time was 55:17 for an average pace of 8:51.

This was about 25 seconds faster than the 10k I did in June, and a slighter lower HR, but higher max HR, which is interesting.  I definitely kept my mind during this race, which is a huge win for me, as I usually give up when my goal time is out of reach.  But it also shows my extreme lack of speed work for the last 4 months.  So many LSD runs.  It'll be nice to crush this 10k time this spring after I add speed back to my newfound endurance.  WHOOP!

Race Review:  I would highly recommend this race to anyone considering doing it.  It was cheap, $35 for the early bird sign up, came with a tech T, had 5k and 10k options, race loot for winners, costume contests with various categories, EVERYONE dressed up (which was awesome, I'm a sucker for costumes!), well run, well organized, great treats post-race.  It was great!

Official Results

Trick or Treat Trail Run

RACE STANDINGS

Overall Place

55/136

Gender Place

23/91

Age Place

4/22

Bib Number

307

Gender

F

Age

29

Start Time

10:02:39.243

Split 1

0

Split 2

0

Split 3

0

Split 4

0

Elapsed

00:55:17.724

Race Report: Lennox Firecracker 10k

About a month ago, I set my sights on the Lennox Firecracker 10k as my next race.  Granted this when I was still on my "yayzies I puffy heart love 10ks, they're so fun zomg!" high.  In the meantime, I slogged slow hot and humid mile after mile.  Zomg, so not yayzies......  As the date got closer, I all but talked myself out of the race completely.  It finally came down to, I'll wait and see what the hourly forecast reveals.  Well damn it anyhow when it said 67 degrees at 8am.  Considering it was supposed to be a high of 90 for the day I was shocked.  I'm in!  [I chose to ignore that pesky little 95% humidity listed next to the temp, because what's a shit-ton little humidity with a temp that low?!?!?!]

I posted a twitter poll for 5k v. 10k, and except for a few people out there who love me, it was a resounding 10k! 10k!  Do it, or I'll punch you in the face, or something like that, my memory is hazy.  So then I got super amped about the race.  "Well I ran a 7:55 pace on a hilly route last time, so clearly I should be able to run a 7:50 on a flat route, right?"  "Yes," I answered my inner dialogue.  "Yes I can!"

I got to the race nice and early with Aaron who was running the 5k (smart guy) and got in a quick little warm up jog.  Thinking I was going all pokey like, I was surprised to see I was "jogging" an 8:20 pace.  Er... ok.  The race started, and I thought I would try to keep Angie in my sights.  She's much speedier than me, but also wasn't "racing" the race.  We chatted along for the first quarter of a mile or so until we looked down at our watches and saw a 7:20 pace.  Uhhh oops!  Because this is a small town race, the route was literally out in the country and through the perimeter of the town.  And you know what that means.... no shade.... and **surprise** gravel!  But we'll get to that in a bit.

The first mile felt good but not as good as it should, if that makes sense.  I was right on pace running in to a slight breeze/wind.  From what I could tell I was sitting at 10th female.  The second mile felt much harder effort wise than the first, and I had said buh-bye to my race pace without even realizing it.  Uff.  It was h-o-t.  About a mile and a half in to the race, I stopped racing.  I figured I would shoot for tempo pace for the remainder (roughly 20-30 seconds slower than race pace).
Mile 1  7:56
Mile 2  8:12

The third mile had a millisecond of shade and I wanted to curl up and nap in it.  There were a couple of girls behind me that were gabbing away that I knew would pass me eventually.  Sad face.  And then I passed two other people, so it all evens out, right?

There were 3 different water stops (and I wouldn't have complained if there was double that, to be honest) and I was oh so happy every time to see them.  I'm not sure if they were set up by the race, or just random volunteers.  Gotta love the small town feel, right?  Around mile 4 my new goal was to not kill someone.  I was really regretting my decision to leave the iPod at home.  I would've given a kidney to listen to something other than my labored breathing.
Mile 3 8:29
Mile 4 8:51

Mile 5 was my $#!tshow mile in the last 10k I did, and this race was no different, except **surprise** let's do this mile on gravel!  And **double surprise** cars will drive by so you can barely breathe!  Death. Stomp. Pout. Repeat.  I stopped looking at my watch.  It's all I could do to not kick a puppy. 
Mile 5 9:20

Finally the last mile brought a few blocks of shade!  Yippee!!  But I was so toasted by this point, it didn't really matter.  I thought I could maybe catch the gal a ways in front of me, but also realized I didn't want to try too hard to do so..... picked up the pace, but she was too far out there.
Mile 6 9:05
.28 2:18 (8:11 pace)

I finished in 54:14 according to my garmin.  No official results that I've been able to see for a pace of 8:39.

I probably should've gone in to this shooting for a more conservative goal given the weather, although I think I still would've crashed and burned.  Really I should've done the 5k.  Grrrr....   My heart rate data at least says that I worked hard given that my heart rate was the same for the first fast mile as it was for the pokey 4th, 5th, and 6th miles.

Oh well, another race in the books, and time to start up training for the Sioux Falls Half Sub 1:50 or BUST!

10k comparison stats
(from Avera 10k in April)
Temp: 50* to 75*
Humidity: no mention of humidity compared to 95%
Pace: 7:55 to 8:39
Difference in fastest mile to slowest mile:  :23 v. 1:11.  bahahahahah.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that analyzes things like this..... :)

Race Report: Race for the Cure 10k

Saturday I took on my first ever 10k, in memory of my friend who recently passed away from breast cancer.  In lieu of my normal Team Green style, I wore pink (whaaaaaaa??!?!?).  No worries, I still rep'd with my green Kinvaras (phew...).  I got to the race super early because this event is known to drawn major crowds.  Before too long I found my running friends/Daily Mile crew.  A few of us took off on an easy, easy warm up jog.  I proceeded to ask Tom what his goal pace/goal time would be 12,000x.  I'm sure I was annoying x 12,000. :)

Last year's race was gun timed, so we made sure to line up near the front of the 7:30-8 minute mile pace sign.  I started my watch when the gun was shot and crossed the line a few short seconds afterward.  I knew that the first couple of miles were going to be up and down, so I tried not to watch my Garmin too much.  Except when I looked down and it said 7:20s.  Uh yeah.... slow down a smidge. 
Mile 1 7:45

The second mile was more rolling hills, and I was surprised at how good I felt.  I've never done a 10k, but I've done lots of 5ks, and mile 2 is usually a shit-show.  I was running under 8 minute pace and feeling just dandy.
Mile 2 7:56

It was around this time that I lost sight of Tom's red shirt (I expected him to beat me, but wanted to keep him in my sight as long as I could).  We continued on to the bike path which was much too narrow to house all the runners.  There was one spot on a bridge where a couple was running shoulder to shoulder and I was stuck waiting until we crossed.  There was another area where I had to surge through the grass to pass someone because we had started to get some of the out and back traffic.  At the halfway point I was at 24:48 (I think).
Mile 3 7:57

Going in to the race, I figured the fourth mile was going to suck.  I assumed it would be the equivalent of mile two in a 5k.  But nope.  I kept right along, slowly passing some folks that had started off too fast.  This was my favorite mile because I got to see a lot of my friends who were running since it was the out-and-back traffic.  I only managed to rustle up energy to cheer for Sara, however.  Sorry other runner friends. :P
Mile 4 7:57

Uff.  Mile 5 was hot.  The sun was up in full force, and we were running in to it without any trees to shade us.  I started to get hot.  A couple of chicks passed me and I promised my legs I'd catch them in the final mile.  I also think there might have been a slight incline during this mile.  But really, I just wanted to be done.  Ooops, there goes my "all miles sub-8, plan."
Mile 5  8:08

I got to the final mile and started to think about Jess.  I knew this would be the toughest mile of the race, and kindly asked her to take over for me.  ;)  I imagine that heaven makes you a crazy fast runner automatically, no?  :)  I tried to do some mental math (which clearly is a bad idea because I suck at math when running, and KNOW THIS) to see what I could finish at.  I did pass the few girls that had passed me during my previous miles slow down.  Phew.  Pride avenged...er something...

There was a nice little downhill in that mile, and I was disappointed to see that there were two separate finish lines, and the one I was shooting for was the furthest away.  GAH!  I've done the 5k in this race two years previously, and the start/finish line was moved way back.  I probably should've adjusted my "kick" based on this, but my brain was tired and didn't think.  I noticed that I didn't have my normal speedy finish in me.  But I also wasn't on the verge of barfing my guts out (my concern after the half finish).  I kept my eye on a couple of people right in front of me, and passed them.

Mile 6 7:57
.25 1:56 (7:08 pace)

I'm kind of annoyed by the extra .05, since that equates to what... 15-20 seconds at that pace?  For once I ran the tangents like a mofo (thanks to Tom explaining the race route in detail before we started).  But oh well.  Also, I was treated to a nice surprise, when the official results were posted and the race was actually chip timed, not gun timed like we thought.  Hello extra seconds taken off my time.  :)

My official time was 49:27 for a pace of 7:54.

And can we talk for one moment about my insane consistency (ignoring miles 1 & 5) for the race?  If I had tried to run 7:57s they would've been all over the place.  Too funny.

Sub 50?  Goal met!
Sub 8 minute pace? Goal met!
Not barfing at the finish?  Goalt met!

Overall for women, I placed 46 out of 349.  After creeping on the 5k results, I realized that at my 10k pace, I would've finished somewhere around 20th out of 1100 women.  How in the world was the 10k that much more competitive?!?!?  Jeepers.

It was a great day, and I know with some speedwork focus (yes, last speedwork training run was April 20th, oops!) I can definitely take that 10k time down.  Plus it makes me think that my 5k time should be much speedier than it is. 

Oh, and according to Kyle I gave everyone spectating a peepshow of my cheeks on my final kick to the finish.  So maybe that's why some of those dudes let me pass them.  ;)

**Clearly my Team Green fan club aka paparazzi extraordinaire were not in attendance, and Kyle TGIT (Team Green in Training) has not yet been taught in the art of spectating AND taking hundreds of photos.  So just imagine me in pink, with my stellar highlighter yellow arm sleeves, and booty shorts with cheekage.  Also, I'm running faaaaaaaaaaaaaast.**