Ouch. I feel awful! So that's good I guess. I put it all out there. Here's how the race went down:
I felt super hot and even dry-mouthed before we even started. It was about 95 F. No breeze at all.
I ran the first mile WAY too fast. I didn't realize how fast I took it out, but I started seeing spots around the 1/2 mile and slowed down. They had big timers going at the mile marks so you could see your splits--that was awesome & it saved me. As I was closing on the first mile, I saw 7 something and freaked out a little. My goal was 9:00 for the 1st mile. 1st mile in 8:00. I had lost the ability to swallow by this point. One amazing thing that happened in this mile--I saw the most astounding shooting star of my life. More like a flaming blue meteor, really. I've always taken shooting starts as a good omen.
The second mile I consciously slowed down to try not to die. There was a prominent hill in this mile. We were to run up it and back down. As I just started going up I saw James flying down. He looked awesome! I did not feel good at all this whole mile. Thank goodness for the water stations. I really think I may not have finished the race if I hadn't grabbed 2 cups at each one. One to take a sip from and throw in my face, and the other to soak my shirt with. At the end of the second mile, I think my time was 17:00, so that would put me at 9:00 for that mile.
The third mile my music carried me in. This was the mile I had to keep brushing away the pesky little question "Why the heck did I have to take up running?! I could be learning to cross stitch right now!" My favorite song came on at the crucial point--"Breaking Free" I know I picked it up when it came on, although I was fading. I tried to come in hard. James said I looked strong coming in. 3rd mile probably in about 9:37, .1 in 1 min. or so. Final time 27:37. Sasha, your ability to predict my time is AMAZING! Within what, 10 seconds!
Recovery was pretty slow. It took me a good 5-10 minutes to stop breathing REALLY fast, and 10-15 more, probably, to start breathing normally. My throat still burns terribly and I have lost my voice almost completely. Other than that, my quads and calves are a little bit sore. HEY! But good news: absolutely NO hip pain or arch pain. I credit the chiropractor for the hip & some arch supports in my new shoes for the comfy feet.
I didn't even come close to feeling okay until I took off my shoes and soaked my feet in a very cold decorative fountain and poured water bottles all over myself. Actually, I got in trouble! A policeman came and told me to get out of the fountain, and I was thinking "Don't you have anything better to do than tell over-heated piano teachers to stop dangling their feet in a little water? Go keep someone from getting mugged in the parking lot, for goodness sakes." But of course, all I said was "Yes sir. I'm sorry."
I didn't see very many girls in front of me, and sure enough, I came in 13th out of 93 female runners. 5th in my age division. Isn't that an improvement from my last race!? Thank goodness for slow runners!
My pace per mile this race was 8:56. Less than 2 months ago, my pace was 11:30 for a 4.2 mile race. I feel really good about that.
My goals for this race were to
1. Run under 30:40 or whatever it is, Paul Peterson's best 10K time (used with permision.) Goal MET! Goal smashed!
2. Have the courage to run fast. Give it my all. Run 'til I yak. I thought it was the most admirable thing ever when Ally threw up 5-6 times after pushing herself in a meet. I mean, here she is just a teenager, and she has the courage to push it that hard. It takes a lot of inner strength to do that. For me, I'm going to call this goal met. I think I had heat exhaustion. I haven't yakked yet, but it is still a possibility. I'm queasy.
3. Be positive about my effort and recognize progress--don't compare myself to anyone but me. Goal met. I feel proud. But I'm not satisfied . . .
I can't wait 'til my next race! | 