Part II
Luckily, I still arrived nice n’ early to the race which allowed some time to use the “washroom,” take some photos, and find a Luna bar, as I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast (I know, I know, I’m such a planner).
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As you know, I love races, and this one was no different. My mind was in race-mode the second I arrived at the park. The heat didn’t bother me, nor did that little thought in the back on my mind about my serious lack of sleep and planning. I got excited, and despite the self-created shady circumstances, I felt ready, ready to run!
I had broken the 30k into three 10ks, and had reduced my goal from “beat last year’s time” to “finish.” Really, beggars can’t be choosers, so I wasn’t going to be picky given my circumstances. And then I was off!
I started out with the 3:00 hour pace bunny. No idea why, or how that happened, but very quickly I realized their pace was way too fast for me (obvs), so I slowed it down, and fell into a comfortable 6:40/km (10:30/mile) moving pace.
I was alone, but feeling good, people watching other runners to kill the time, and to see if I recognized anyone. I ran the whole thing doing my usual, “10 and 1s” (where I run 10 minutes, walk 1 - as per my Garmin’s beeps) and was thrilled at my mental strength. When I felt tired and wanted to walk, I’d see I had 3 minutes until a walk break, and would actually suffer through it, as apposed to walk early. It was the 1st race I didn’t “give up” at any point (yay!!).
The km marks quickly went by, and then suddenly I was more than 1/2 way done. There isn’t too much to say about this run, because it’s the world’s most boring route (route and other dirty deets found here), and little happened to me throughout it; simply put? I just kept running. Although, it must be noted that at the 26k (16.3 mile) mark I fell. Hard.
I’ve never in my life fallen while running, but yesterday I wiped out. It was at a crossing where cops were holding back some very angry cars, who were all holding down their horns, when I completely wiped out (tired? distracted? I don’t know). But I flew to the ground with a slap, and then the car horns suddenly stopped, and I felt everyone’s eyes on me. I was sooooo embarrassed, that despite the pain in my left knee, I popped right back up, and just, kept, running. Te-doo-te-daa nobody saw that, right?
After I was out of everybody’s sight I had a panic attack. I know, I know - drama queen? I don’t know why, but falling jolted my mindset and freaked me out. I started to cry and couldn’t breath. I sat down for a moment and slowly calmed myself down - after talking myself through it, I luckily soon got that first real gasp of air, which was amazing and much needed. I then walked a few steps, and soon after started running again.
I was on the home stretch baby.
Kilometer 27. Kilometer 28. Kilometer 29. Omigod I swear this is way longer than a kilometer… and I could see the finish, so I sprinted my ass off (see the spike below, at the end? that’s me FLYING. Also, the huge drops are my 1 minute walks).
When I looked down at my watch and saw 3 hours 18 minutes, once again the tears came. I was over the moon with happiness! I had just taken 15 minutes off last year’s time, and did better than I had thought possible. I fought the crowds to find my friend Angela, who also did an awesome job, taking 10 minutes off her 15k time, and hugged her until I realized I had to keep walking before my legs froze.
It was over. I was done. And I was ecstatic about my race. My full marathon falls just over a month away… whether or not I can maintain that pace for another 12k? I’m not sure… but if I do, it’ll have me running the Berlin marathon in about 4hours 50 minutes, which is my ultimate goal (marathon in under 5)!!
Long story short, after the race my friend and I ended up heading to McDonalds by default, as it was the only thing open around midnight! My Big Mac was the most delicious burger I have ever eaten, ever (<— exaggeration, but seriously, McDs is da bomb) and very well deserved *as I pat myself on the back.*
[[for peace of mind I worked out the calories after, because, you know, I’m annoying like that, and I still lost more calories on the run than my combo. Score!]]
Here some official race photos of last night’s run - awkward neck pull - as the majority of them are awful, but enjoy!
Today I slept in, have tried to nurse my knee back to bending abilities, because whoa - scrapes hurt, watched trashy tv in bed, and just all around been useless. Aka, today has been great. My muscles don’t hurt that much either, which I’m not sure is a good thing, or bad - perhaps next time (marathon time!) I’ll know I can push myself that little bit more?! Hmmm…
Overall it was a great weekend, which could have gone terribly wrong - I’m not sure I’d recommend going out the night before a 30k race to anyone any time soon - as I think God was just watching out for me this time… :)
