First of ALL I am so excited about my PR today. It feels so good. I feel like I am coming back from the dead. I just can't believe that something so simple as taking iron can do for the body. I can't believe it got so bad. I was so depressed and so Un motiviated and had no idea what was plaguing me was a bottomed out iron level. I have some articles I will post to my blog. I was case book. They are written by track coaches of long distance runners. I don't feel fully back but really close and after today's PR on an "easy" course-- the downhill can make or break you coming in to the more flat to rolling hill last 7 miles-- I have hope to come back even stronger. I played it safe and could even talk the whole way. I never got nauseated or felt terribly spent. I was more like "don't fall apart" mantra based on all my races the past 4 months feeling miserable every step of the way. But it didn't happen and after slowing at miles 6 and 8 due to flatness I was able to look at my garmin and tell myself to just stay even the rest of the way and I got my stride back and felt pretty strong passing a lot of people. I believe I was first master as the girl I passed at the end came in about 1 minute after asking my age and bummed I was over forty. But since I wasn't official I told her she gets the glory. I was just too happy about PRing after such sadness preSGM. I was (to be updated as official results are posted, either 8th or 9th overall) as McKenzie came in at 1:26 and was 6th. I feel really good right now. No muscle soreness and even felt I could add on. I did do a two mile warmup, one uphill very steep and then back down. The mile up was at 11:00 pace. I was purposely running slow but was worried how I was going to try and do 1:30 to 1:32 today at that point. The weather was SPECTACULAR. The view was BREATHTAKING and the COSTUMES WERE AWESOME!! Sidenote: I was supposed to go early with Melanie and Kim at 7:50am but I got so excited seeing all the runners that I told them to go ahead (I didn't want to be burned by them anyway) and that I would start at the real time. The start was only late by 10 minutes (9:10am). Here is are the splits with a brief play by play: 1 6:38 A dip then a short uphill portion having to coral thru a small space between a bus parked perpendicular (basically blocking the road) to the road and a road sign. Seriously? My pace just 100 feet in the race only at 8:38. We had to get thru a narrow passage right from the start. It was rather odd. 2 6:27 Preoccupied by this ANNOYING runner knocking down EVERY cone in the middle of the road. He was on autopilot purposely knocking every one of them down as he went by. The were spaced about 100 feet apart. He annoyed a lot of us. I yelled to him several times but his music was blasting. I finally told another runner blazing by me to go up and tell him to stop it. Several of us were quite perplexed by this OCD behavior. It ended soon after that. I think someone finally got through to him.
3 6:21 Talked to Becca a bit (I told her her shoe was untied) just after passing the 1:30 pacers (two women) going way too fast for that pace. I asked if they were going for a positive split? Too bad for those who had never run under 1:30 and trusted them to get them there. 4 6:24 5 6:41 Course flattens out and steepness ended halfway thru this mile. The 1:30 pacer girls pass me. Seriously? NOT a 1:30. I was waiting for them to put on the breaks. They never did. 6 7:05 Just told myself this was expected and try to regain composure and not lose it. It worked. : D Talked to JulieE as I was right behind and then passed her brother. She was cheering him on. I couldn't help but tell her the story about the 1:30 pacers being ahead of the game. Hope all this talking is okay?
7 7:08 Yippee still doing okay. 8 6:54 I kept trying to average my pace and see how "slow" I could go and still get under 1:30. It was a nice mental way to keep me going steady. 9 6:58 A little uphill here but I just shuffled up it in short strides and didn't even feel out of breath. 10 6:58 Just cruising by people keeping it even. However I can feel a blister on the top of my (left big toe) forming. It kind of messes with my form the last three miles but I don't let it take me down : D. It was bleeding by the end.
11 7:18 Water station I walked thru. 12 7:11 Just hang on. Felt like I should just start sprinting I feel so good. But who likes to start sprinting for the last mile of a half? What if I fall apart? Pass naked butt girl with a sign on her back that reads "does my butt look like it makes me run fast?" to which I told her "yes, your butt makes you run fast, I have seen "your butt" for miles and finally caught it". I am sure that butt slowed her down a bit. 13.1 6:59 Low and behold the last .1 miles of the race the 1:30 pacers come running up the course. They see me and turn around with their signs held up and "run me in". I didn't need them to run me in but oh well. It was kind of funny cause my time was 1:27:40. So much for their pacing careers : D. Allie had to pace for a 2:05. I am sure she didn't try to run 1:50 for that group for the heck of it. If I were a pacer I would LOVE the excuse to run SLOWER so of course I would run the appropriate pace. Anyway it was an interesting distraction. Finally-- This race was well organized and I quite enjoyed the Halloween feel and the fall foilage on the course. Truly a great day for me. Finally : DDDDD PS I feel even right now I could run another 5 miles. Too wonderful.
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