Papa John’s 10-miler 2010

I am not even quite sure how to begin this post. This was probably the most fun I’ve had at a race in a long time, if not ever!

The weather at the start was perfect: it was warm (low 60’s), overcast and a bit breezy. I wore a tank top and capri yoga-type pants. The two previous years at this same race, I was dressed in layers!

Before the race, I had gone back and forth with my game plan. I thought about walk-running, but could I really stand to look at my watch that much? How soon did I need to start? Even though I had been thinking about this for a few days, I still hadn’t made up my mind.

So, Farrah and I decided to run the first mile and see how it went (9:18). Then we thought we’d do the first three miles before taking a break. Then we got into Iroquois Park and took it one mile at a time with all the hills.

The hills I had been dreading a bit and I have to say…they weren’t that bad. I should train at Iroquois before the races next year, because as soon as I get in there, I realize they really aren’t so bad.

Before we knew it, we were between mile 6 and 7 coming out of the park and it started to pour down rain. What?! It had gotten so warm though that it felt good. Both of us had some chafing after the race but other than that, the rain did not set us back very much.

It was also raining hard when I got back to the car later (luckily I got in before it hit really hard):

When we got to mile 9, which is my least favorite of the entire race due to this massive incline up a road (which we do on our training runs sometimes), Farrah grabbed my hand and led me, running up that hill. I did it!

After that it was smooth sailing, into the football stadium and around the field one time before we hit the finish line…

WE.RAN.THE.ENTIRE.RACE!

• Distance: 10 miles
• Official time: 1:47:22
• Average Pace: 10:44/mile

Edited to add: Another blogger who ran this race says the distance is actually 10.18 miles, so my average pace would’ve really been more like 10:33/mile 🙂 Sweet!

That was so not the plan! But, I seriously could not be happier with how I finished (my 2nd best time at this course). I was shooting for under 2 hours and incorporating some walking breaks but I really didn’t need them. This was also the first race I’ve ever done in the rain!

I did walk through the water stops (which I only took 2) and stopped to use the bathroom once. That was it!

The best part is, I feel great. I’m not very tired, my legs are just a little sore but nothing like previous long runs. I took Advil and put Golden Tiger on my calves and feet as soon as I was done.

I’ve been moving around a lot, I have found that sitting for long periods of time just makes me more sore. But I do plan on taking it easy tonight 😉

Thank you everyone for all your support. I can’t believe I get to do this all over again when I run the mini-marathon, three weeks from today! Having completed 10 miles, I’m feeling pretty good about it now.

NEVER underestimate yourself. You are able to do more than you think 🙂