So today was the 10k. I woke up really early to get there. We got our bib numbers and chips from Bill at a post office on sunnyside, and then we ran up sunnyside a bit and back to the post office, then we did strides while we waited for Natalie to get her East top. Then we ran over to the starting line, and we did more strides. The race started out way fast. I looked at my watch and it said I was going 5:15-5:30 pace. That was a shocker, so I tried to slow down, but I felt like I should go fast on the downhill. The first mile was really fast of course, but I can't figure out how to go back and look at my splits on this watch. The 2nd mile wasn't quite as fast, but still faster than 6 minute pace, which I was supposed to hit. The 3rd mile I started crashing, and pretty soon tons of people were passing me. I completely lost it then and yes, gave up. The people passing me, not just a couple, but a ton, got to my mind and I completely crashed. Then I just had to finish the 3 miles left. At the 4th or 5th mile I thought I should start pushing again, so I tried to go with people. Although the 2 different ways had me really confused, and some guy said something into his walkie-talkie about the last of "them" coming was on whatever street and whatever street (I didn't care), but looked back and there was only one other guy behind me. That confused me so much more because I knew for a fact that Olivia and Annie and Jesse and Grace had all not passed me. So then I worried that I was now in the wrong race, and my mind went a million miles an hour. It made it somewhat easier thought. And then there were all the people. The last part seemed so long, but at the same time it felt so short. At least I passed the point of stopping, and I'm happy to say that this is the first time in a while that when I have been that negative and that tempted to stop, I kept going :) Then came the cool down. We did it part of the way backwards, the way we were supposed to go. I got a huge side ache and really felt the lactic. I didn't want to go as far as the others because my side was just killing me, so I took a shorter way to finish the day with 12. As for my time, I saw the clock as I ran in, and I just remember 46:08, so I added 2 seconds to it. I don't know what the time was that they had for me, but it has got to be really close to that.
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