Fraidycat 10K

Happy Halloween Witches!

 

 

Thanks for your comments on my last post! We survived the night in Chicago and our costumes turned out preeetty great, if I do say so myself!!

 

Jake’s commitment to growing his own beard for Lincoln really made me extra happy. He knows the way to my heart. 

 

 

We had the best night. We were up way too late and drank way too much pumpkin beer on Friday so Saturday was a very slow start home. Thankfully, we didn’t have much to do so it was a full Saturday to recooperate because Sunday I had a very unplanned race to wake up for! 

 

 

My mother-in-law emailed me a link to a Halloween 10k nearby last Thursday morning. She said she would treat me to it if I wanted to sign up and that they would come out and cheer!! I was immediately SO excited...which is shocking because I have been really struggling with my relationship with running lately (you can read my recent post about it here). This past week I have still been kind of pissed about dropping out of my Half Marathon last weekend... but of course I had a few great runs over the week (go figure) so I knew I would be super comfortable with the distance.

 

She signed me up Thursday and I picked my packet up Friday! I don’t know if I have ever registered so late. It was great not having very much time to overthink it.

 

 

This race had a 5K (3.1 miles) and a 10K (6.2 miles). Both races started together and if you ran the 10K you just ran the course twice. This was the first time I have ever been in a race mapped out like that. It was pretty great though because Jacob didn’t have to do much running around to find me on the course. I saw him at the start, when I finished the first half (mile 3.1) and at the end. I also kind of liked figuring out the course on my first loop. I was able to plan for the hills my second time around... but honestly I was so dead after mile 4.5 that it probably didn’t help all that much. 

 

 

Basically I hit a wall. The last 1.5 miles felt impossible. My watch was messed up the first two miles and I wonder if I just went out too fast. I even walked near the end for a few seconds and I know for certain that has never happened in any previous race.

 

Probably one of the hardest parts was that the 5K race was over 400 people and the 10K had just under 50 people. SO when the 5K runners around me finished and I kept going, I was all alone. Like ALONE ALONE. It was so hard to keep a race menatlity when you have no other runners around you. 

 

I ended 01:01:26 

 

Not my best by any means but I know I did everything I could. Speed just wasn’t in me today and thats okay. I got to RACE and every single time I am at a race I remember why I love it so much. 

 

 

 

Even my Father-in-law said he might run it next year! He used to run a little bit but its been a long time. To hear him say that just proves how electrifying being at a race is!!

 

This was such a nice gift from them. I have two more 10Ks planned this year and now I have a little bit of my spark back!