I ate my bagel with PB and honey and drank 2 cups of water and some coffee. The race was starting at 10 so I headed out around 8:30. When I got there all anyone was talking about was the wind and how it was going to impact race times. I was running with my uncle and my running buddy so we got our bib's and headed up to the race start line.
(happy start-line photos)
I realized as we were waiting to start my mouth was really dry, which I thought was kinda odd as I had drank a lot of water. But I didnt think too much about it. The race announcer then told us there were no headphones permitted on the course which was a total bummer! I hate not being able to lose myself in the music!! The horn sounded and off we went. I saw a bunch of girls sprint off ahead of me but tried to focus on running my own race and not starting out too fast. I finished the first mile in 6:49 and then the second 7:01. I could not get over how dry my mouth was though. I had zero spit and my tongue actually felt stuck to the roof of my mouth. I dont usually drink on 10k runs but I grabbed a water at the first aid station and it felt so good just to wet my mouth a bit.
The third and fourth miles were tough, it was hot, I was having a hard time maintaining my pace and I remember thinking when I passed the 6km marker that I felt like giving up cause I felt like I was slowing drastically. The second aid station I had to grab a water again. Mile 5 I was able to pick it up a bit at 7:12 and then once that was done I knew I could hold on for the last mile. My previous best 10k was 44:25 and I knew I wasnt going to break that. But my previous time for this course was 46:07 and I could tell I was on pace to beat that. So I just reminded myself that I dont need to set records every race and beating last years time would be great! There is a lot of self-talk that goes on during races...lol!
The last mile was hard as well. I usually get a decent runners high during races and this one was a slog. The whole race felt tough and was a bit of battle mentally. I never really got into the groove. But I held on and pushed through and crossed the line at 45:05.
(red faced and happy to be done!!)
They give flowers to the women as they cross the line at this race since its Mother's Day so that was kinda nice. But, I knew that I had seen a half dozen or so girls ahead of me so I wasnt sure how well I had placed. That was kinda disheartening since I won the race last year. When the results were posted I was pleasantly surprised. 1st in my age division out of 30 and and 6th overall out of 158. So that definitely lifted my spirits!
Not only that my running buddy made the podium for the first time placing 3rd for his age division and my uncle placed 4th. So all of sudden things looked a little brighter! I got another medal to add to the collection...yay!
Also there was a 93 year old man who finished the 5k portion of the race! Isnt that awesome!!!! We all gave him a standing ovation when he got his medal :)
So inspiring!
I realized after the race that it was probably the cold medication I have been taking for the last few days that made my mouth so dry!! Note to self... dont take decongestants the night before a race!! Lesson learned there. That was not a pleasant feeling. So overall despite it being a tough race mentally it ended on a good note. I'm happy I pushed through the struggle and racing will always be my favorite way to spend Mother's Day! Especially when I get to come home to cute gifts like this...
Isnt that an awesome mug!!! Happy Mother's indeed :)
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