Alexis... my blog has been inactive for 5 months now. I did this just for you my friend and I will work on updating this with some of the past 5 months.
Today was the Papa John's 10 mile race and the final leg of the Triple Crown of Running.
I am going to say this was a great race although I am a
little disappointed. I wanted a PR for this race and my goal
was to run sub 2 hours. I was right on track all the way up to mile 6.5 even
after going through the park and all the hills. I knew my pace would be slower
in the park and I planned for that. I also planned for some discomfort from my
knee and glute that has been bothering me for the past few weeks. Surprisingly
my pace was pretty good through the park, I did walk more here to save my push
for the back half, and my body felt good and strong. What I didn’t plan for was
the awful GI issues just before mile 7.
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| Nathan and I Pre-Race |
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| My pal Connie and I. I wish I could have gotten a pic with my other peeps too! |
I followed my nutrition plan as I was supposed to (eat
1-2 chews every 15 min and sip on Skratch and/ water) and I practiced this last
week without any problems other than getting my chews out of my pouch. I was
out of Honey Stinger chews so I used PowerBar cola bites since I have used them
before. Pre-Race fuel was a bowl of
oatmeal with some raisins and some Splenda brown sugar and some coffee to get
things rollin (I had hoped) a couple of hours before the race. I sipped on a
little water on the way to the race. As I type this report I’m thinking about
hydration, and I think know I was dehydrated before the race and there’s
no “catching up” on proper hydration. I didn’t drink enough fluids this week so
I know that impacted this race for sure. I was super hydrated before the Rodes
City 10k and took about 10 min off my previous time. I still need to work on a better way of
taking my (Honey Stinger ONLY) chews because digging them out of a hydration
belt behind your back is complicated or look into all liquid options other than
Infinit (the taste gags me now). The Powerbar chews didn’t appeal to my taste
buds right from the get go either and It’s odd how your taste changes.
Nathan and I arrived very early to the race to avoid
traffic, swap my shirt, TCB before the lines got too long, and of course pre-race
photos. I felt a jittery as usual because I don’t believe in my capabilities even
though I keep busting out PR’s and I was nervous I would get out there and have
lots of pain…who cares (not about the pain- pain isn’t good) if I had to I
could walk. No. I had it in my head I am running and walking ONLY when needed
and getting that PR AND running sub 2. I’m
NOT running on a broken leg this year so I think I had myself so worked up because
I was comparing myself to last year and I should easily PR…running is not easy
for me and it never has been. I only put in one run in the last two weeks (9
miles the week before) and just had a rough two weeks with lousy lack of training. I was happy to see my
pal Connie before the race and drawl off some of her energy but I didn’t get to
see my other peeps. Nathan went towards the front of the pack so he could avoid
fighting the crowd since he was on a mission for a PR as well. IT’S GO TIME!!!
My first mile was just under 11 min and I felt great but
I wanted to slow the pace just a bit to conserve energy. I should have just let
my horses run the first three miles to get some cushion then back off, but it
was a long run and pacing would be key. I would pick it up on the back half. Next
couple miles were about a minute slower and were fine. I didn't feel pain anywhere, I
felt strong in the core, and had great form.
Into the park we go and I noticed a guy in a blue shirt
cutting across the grass to the road above and CHEATING! I didn’t see a bib
number or I would have made sure he got a fat DQ by his name. I felt more
badass because I knew I could go the distance so let him go, but I’m really
surprised the runners at the top didn’t react to him. MAYBE they got his number
and turned it in. The hills still sucked as they did last year, but due to my
lack of running and hill training they worked me harder than I remembered from
last year (would the hills ever end?) My pace stayed pretty good even with lots of walking uphill and I
was still on track at mile 5. The crazy guy was out there cheering us on and
that made me smile. I eased up on my sipping some because I was feeling the
urge to pee but I was NOT going to wait in line for a porta potty. I seriously
considered ducking behind a van that was there or just letting it go since I
was wearing black dri-fit capris and compression sleeves. It was too chilly, I
still had 4 miles to go, and Nathan may not let me back in the BMW to go home
if I fessed up to peeing my pants. I held it and focused on something else. I picked out my person(s)
I was gonna beat and just tried to keep them in my sights. Everything was going
good and making up time on the downhill. I knew it was flat on the way back and
I would be ready to take down that last long hill to the stadium.
Out of the park I was picking up the pace and getting a
groove. Mile 6.78 is when the GI problems hit. I don’t know any other way of
putting this because GI distress is never fun or nice to hear about. I wasn’t
sure if I was going to puke or crap my pants or knowing my luck both. I kept
burping and feeling the discomfort (hell) upper stomach so I think those Powerbar
chews were working against me. I started taking one chew every other mile in
the park. I don’t know what went wrong other than lack of hydration this week.
The last 3 miles were awful but my pace still stayed around 12:30 but I had to
run a little, gag, walk a little, run some, gag and hold the projectile down,
walk. I saw my pals Connie and Ericka run by and they looked so good! I tried
to keep them in my sight because they gave me a little drive to keep pushing
(thanks ladies) and I noticed the person(s) I picked out in the park ahead of
me too. I tried to focus my mind on anything except my stomach but it was a
challenge.
I was crunching numbers in my head and felt a little
bummed that I had less than 10 minutes to hit my sub 2 goal and almost a mile
and a half to go including the climb. I covered my watch at that point because
my new goals were to finish without puking and just enjoy running. I planned my
race but some things you just can’t control. Up the long climb I went and I
peeked at my watch (I know!!) and realized I still could hit that PR but it was
going to be very close. I passed up the people I was secretly racing and “Phoenix”
by Fallout Boy (one of my favorite songs) came on my ipod as I was rounding the
bin. I kicked it in gear and just focused on that finish line. No pain face
here, only a please don’t puke face hopefully hidden by a smile.
I DID IT!! I completed the PJ10 race with my new record.
It was only seconds faster but it’s STILL a PR. I got my medal and found
Nathan. He ran an amazingly strong race and I’m so proud of him!
We gathered our goodies and headed out after a few
selfies and a great laugh. Nathan cracks me up!! I love running races with him
waiting for me at the finish line.
I’m still feeling a little icky on my stomach as I write
this report so I will be working hard on figuring out the fueling part. I’ve
come a long way with my running and I’m running much faster and stronger than
ever. This was my first Triple Crown running series and I loved every race and
not just because I set a PR at every race. Derby Half Marathon I’m coming for
you next!!
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| Double PR!!! |
Distance according to Garmin- 10.17 miles
Time- 2:04:27
Fastest mile- 10:57
Slowest mile- 13:22 (walked a lot that last long hill)
Average- 12:15
Pace last .17 driving it home to seal PR- 8:37—yeah baby!!
Nathan was a super speedy 1:15:56- Wow.
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