My first 10K of this season was the St Pete Beach Classic 10K back in January. When I ran that race last month I didn’t push too hard, running only at a moderately fast (for me) pace. Having only done full and half marathons at that point in the season, I didn’t want to hurt that bad and held back on my effort. I had big goals for this race, was prepared to be uncomfortable and I definitely blew those goals away!
Now somehow I convinced Jena, my running partner-in-crime, that she should run this race with me except do the 5K distance (go check out her recap). And by somehow convinced I really mean that I emailed her the link, telling her to register for the 5K distance and she agreed after only a little resistance. π So she came down and stayed the night at Casa Motivational Miles since the race was local to me.
The usual pre-race routine: carb loading, early bedtime, 430am alarm, coffee, oatmeal, etc. We got to the race start at 630 for my 730 10K start time (5K started at 745) and wandered the event for a bit, excessively used the port-o-potties and did some warm-up jogging.
My first goal for this race was to break 50 minutes, my second was to hold a sub-8 minute/mile pace for the average. Done and done!
Chip Time: 48:54, Age Group: 1/16, Overall: 48/200+
I was worried about going out too fast but had already made peace with the fact that I’d be in pain for the majority of the 6.2 miles. So I just went for it and I felt really strong.
The course was nice but for the most part uneventful. I used to do all my long runs for the OBX Marathon down Lakewood Ranch Blvd so it wasn’t anything new for me.
My heart rate was in perfect racing zone for the majority and didn’t get into the OMG-I’m-going-to-die zone until 5.5 miles in.
I know it doesn’t look like anything drastic but once I cross over into 186bpm and above I’m seriously hurting. So there I was bargaining with myself and thinking all kinds of evil thoughts when up ahead I see a beautiful sight: Jena in her bright yellow compression sleeves running towards me. She had finished her 5K and immediately came back out on the course looking for me to pace me in! All I could think was ‘Thank God, Jena is coming!!!’ Having her there by my side for the last half mile or so gave me the boost I needed to finish strong. When I rounded the corner and saw the clock creeping close to 49 minutes I sprinted as fast as I could. I finished 2 seconds behind another friend of mine and a fellow FitCrew girl, Natalie. This picture of me and Natalie was taken by James A Jones Jr from the Bradenton Herald and posted on the news site:
All three of us earned medals in our age groups so we stuck around for awards. My sweet medal:
Afterwards Jena and I headed out for another 6.3 miles since we still have half marathons on our calendar. It was definitely much hotter out by this point and my legs were out of gas so while our pace was decent, I felt like complete turd and was so happy when it was over.
Total mileage for Sunday: 12.6
We hit up my favorite local brunch spot on the way home then Jena showered and hit the road. I then showered and curled up into the fetal position in bed. π Overall it was a great race that benefited a great cause (provides scholarships and funds mentors for kids) and was very well done which wasn’t a surprise since it was held in Lakewood Ranch. I’m really proud of myself and am very pleased with my performance/PR. When I started really racing last season I honestly never thought that I could ever run this fast. I’m having so much fun and am really looking forward to the remaining races this season. Especially the Flying Pirate Half Marathon in the OBX but Jena already knew that! π
Oh, and, my St. Pete Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon recap is coming up next! I didn’t forget about it, I was just way too excited to share this 10K PR!