Race Recap - NCRC Classic 10K

Well, this was... humbling.

I honestly have been telling myself that a 10k was nothing to get too worked up about and my inconsistent training was not going to stop me from attaining my time goals.

HA.

HAHA.

I didn't respect the distance or train enough and, oh man... did I pay for that. Here's the breakdown:

What?  No balloon arch?  Sad.

The Good:  I PR'd!  Not as fast as I wanted but faster than my last 10k.  So that was awesome!  And I wasn't last, so there's that.  I really thought I would be last for the first couple of miles but then I passed some people and at turnaround saw that there were even more people further behind me.

The Bad: The first mile was soul-crushing.  I huffed and puffed and suffered.  I thought about turning around and quitting.  Not in that, "It'd be nice to quit" way, but in a very serious, "OMG, I'm going to have a heart attack if I take one more step" way.  By mile 2, I had found a groove but I already figured out my time goal was a pipe dream.

This came just at the right time to keep me moving.

The Ugly: The last .2 of the 6.2 was a monster hill.  The half marathon leaders were passing me and they even walked up the hill.  Here's my elevation chart from Garmin:

 

The downhill didn't feel that significant on the first mile, but at the end... oh my stars... my final .41 mile was at an 18:58 pace if that gives you any idea of how bad it was.  That was the second time I wondered if quitting was an option.  I literally have no idea what kept me moving up that hill.  I thought about my kids, my IRun4 buddy Garin, and the Swim, Bike, Mom mantra, "Just Keep Moving Forward".  And I guess it worked because I made it.  But it was an exhausting way to end a race I was not prepared for.

Lessons Learned:  At some point, this lesson is going to sink in.  I MUST TRAIN FOR RACES.  Train like it's a serious thing.  I mean, really.  It's getting embarrassing to be me.

Best Part:  I looked cute!  I wore my Everest SparkleSkirt over tights (because it was in the low 50s this morning!) and big eyelashes.

I ran this race to submit a time to Disney for my upcoming Dumbo Double Dare and Wine & Dine.  I am wondering if I will though.  The time is not what I had hoped and last time, I didn't submit a time and got in 3 corrals from the last.  If I take the lessons learned part to heart and do some training, I can handle being in the last corral.  It's not the end of the world.  Maybe any time submitted is better than no time submitted?  I don't know.  I'll have to see if any RunDisney experts chime in on the comments.






Before the race!

After the race!  Still smiling!

UGH - Reality Check Pants

Ok, it's been a rough couple of weeks.  A root canal, a DNS, and basically not doing anything to train has been a big challenge.  As I mentioned in my "boo-hoo, I'm bipolar" post, I did get a change to my medication and I do believe it is improving my attitude.  So, that's great!  But now I need to look at what I've done to myself during my last few months of backslide.

Reality Check #1 is that I have got a 10k that is my time qualifier for the upcoming Disney races (Dumbo Double Dare and possibly Wine & Dine) that is in two weeks.  I am not TOO stressed, but I don't want to struggle.  My goal is just to finish with a good enough time to keep me out of the last Disney corral.

Reality Check #2 (and the biggie) is a hard pill to swallow... It's a pair of capri shorts that fit just great about 2 months ago and now I can't zip up without major effort.  NOT COOL.  I don't feel like I have been totally pigging out, but stress and depression eating happens, and must have in these dark times.

SO!  What to do now?  I'm about 20 lbs from my lowest Weight Watchers weight of about 4 months ago, so that 20 lbs needs to go before I tackle the rest.  It will get me back into my capris and down to a size where I feel good (not great, but good - and hey, good is GOOD).  I'm just going to go back to tracking calories and daily work outs and see if that naturally takes care of the problem.  If not, I'll have to reevaluate in a few weeks.

That's the plan!  Anyone have any advice for getting faster in two weeks?