On Sunday morning I had my last race of the season. I feel like I JUST started racing again and poof — it’s over. I’m jealous of the rest of the country who is now beginning their race season. I felt like it was fitting that my race season started AND ended at UCF.

In any case, I didn’t even know that this race existed until a few weeks ago when Paula demanded that I sign up for it. I checked the dates (I was very excited to see that it was on a Sunday so my family could cheer me on!) and immediately forked over $40. A 10-miler is something I had never raced before and we all know I am ALL about the instant PRs.

The race started at 7:30, but we decided to try to leave by 6:30 so we had time to pick up our bibs and find parking. Paula picked me up – so I got to sleep in (aka sleeping until 5:45 on race day). We arrived all of 10 minutes later and got all confused about where the parking garage was located. We ended up asking the race packet people — and killed two birds with one stone by picking UP our bibs and shirts. It’s the little things. We finally found the garage and as we parked the car we found our new racing BFF, Tyler. Paula and I had convinced him to sign up, so we actually KNEW he has going to be there this time but didn’t expect to find him right away.

No idea why I’m posing like this, but obviously it was so I could post it in the middle of this amazing blog post.

We all thought that there would be a bigger race crowd. Instead there were less than 250.

After fighting the crowds at the Winter Park Road Race, I am definitely not complaining about running in a small race. I actually thought it was pretty awesome!

We started a few minutes past 7:30 and I just went with it. I actually RAN last week (10 miles on Sunday, 5 miles on Tuesday, and 4 miles on Thursday), so my legs were feeling happy, but not over trained. The weather had changed overnight – it was horrible, humid, and rainy on Saturday – and crisp, cool (low 50s), and windy on Sunday. It was perfect racing weather (maybe minus the wind) so those first two miles were FAST (for me).

And then at Mile 3 I had a moment of clarity and thought “What the hell am I doing??” and slowed it down a little. Actually, I saw Kat (who is fast, passed her, and then thought – OMG, I am really going to fast). I also realized that I hadn’t eaten breakfast (DERP) and took a Clif Shot because I figured I would need it (I was right).

Somewhere between Mile 3-4, I saw a familiar shadow behind me. Yep, it was Tyler. He said he felt really sluggish (yet, he still managed to catch up to me – that boy), but was going to try to stick with me. I told him I was trying to stay under a 9:00 min/mile pace – but I didn’t want to kill myself before the end. So we just ran and talked and tried to avoid looking at our watches.

This was the first race where I actually tried to push myself AND talk at the same time (not including when I was pregnant) — and you know what? I kinda liked it. I truly didn’t think I could keep the pace and constantly ramble about myself, but I’ve been surprising myself a lot lately.

Because I was talking rambling, most of the race just flew by. Every time my watch beeped, Tyler and I would look to see the pace and he would say “We’re still doing good!” We saw Paula 3 times and each time I was SO happy to see that she was only a few minutes behind us. We also screamed GO PAULA – WOO! every time we saw her. She is pretty much the closest thing I know to a celebrity.

Around Mile 7, I hit my usual wall. The wind that hit us at one of the turnarounds DID NOT help. I took a gel though and sucked it up. I’m pretty sure that at that point Tyler COULD have gone on without me – but he didn’t, instead he pushed me along and I appreciated EVERY second of it. I got another little wind with about a mile to go and we started pushing the pace. I passed Kat again, who like me was NOT appreciating the wind.

The end of the race was really fun – we ran around BrightHouse Stadium and down one of the side streets. I started my finish line sprint a little TOO soon (I actually shouted to Tyler “I think I’m going to die.”), but it was worth it.

My official time is a little confusing (they gave me the wrong chip – which I had to put on my shoe). At first it was listed as 1:27:58, but since Tyler came in at 1:25:59 we knew that was WRONG. Later, it was listed online as 1:26:00. My Garmin said 1:26:03, so we’ll go with 1:26:00. By the way, Tyler BEAT ME by 1 second. That little minx.

As for my time? My A goal was 1:30 — so I guess you can say I smoked it and I’m pretty freaking happy! Plus I came in 5th in my age group. I don’t think I’ve ever been below 10 before, even in a small race. Woo!

Splits

Of course, the best part of the race is seeing my family cheering me on. Even if L told Dan that I was wearing a pink shirt and black shorts (she woke up as I was getting ready), so he had NO idea it was me coming in for the finish.

Nope, not even close.

I also caught Paula speeding into the finish just a few minutes later with a massive PR.

Overall, I think we were all pretty happy on how the race was run! The course showed up short on my Garmin, BUT it’s short everywhere. I don’t think it registers turnarounds very well — and there were quite a few of them.

Obviously, we celebrated by taking pictures. Next year I expect more people I know at this race… and more people in general.

And then we ate at IHOP.

This was L’s — I had a veggie omelette, pancakes, and hash browns, in case you thought I was going with a lame after-race meal.

Tyler joined my crazy, crazy family and they, of course, loved him.

I think we are going to adopt him.

And just like that, my 2013-2014 race season is OVER.

Up next?? THE CHICAGO MARATHON!!! And lots, and lots of running. Lots of it.

I’ve haven’t talked about it much, I had a race this weekend. The ZKS WPRR 10K (so many acronyms, so little time)…

Of course, I spent the entire week before the race doing this…

Yes, sitting on my butt, with a glass of wine in hand.

I have been insanely busy these last few weeks. I mean, how is it MARCH? Between managing the kids, social activities, visiting family, and allergies (OMGTHEYAREHORRIBLE) I’ve felt very overwhelmed. The time change was the icing on the cake. It has been BRUTAL. I am exhausted during the day, but wide awake at night. So instead of trying to “stay on schedule” and fit my workouts in – I caved and focused on relaxing. Or not doing anything.

I started questioning this strategy on Thursday though, when I actually felt better and wanted to work out again. But, I stuck with it until Saturday. I don’t normally taper for 10Ks (or even halfs!) but I figured this might help me PR.

So then, I stayed up WAAAAAY too late on Friday night watching Veronica Mars

(it was worth  it)

THEN I had to deal with multiple kid wake ups throughout the night. A #motherrunner never sleeps. I probably got about 3 hours of sleep and REALLLLY did not want to get up on Saturday. My alarm didn’t even go off though – E woke up at 4:55 and that was that. Sigh.

I have to say, it’s times like these that I’m thankful I have a race buddy – because I KNEW I had to get my booty in gear to go pick her up. She really didn’t want to run this race either – so I couldn’t skip out on her. Plus…. I really wanted that damn PR.

I picked her up around 6:20 and we headed over to Winter Park. We made it in plenty of time to grab our bibs and drop out stuff at the car. My bladder decided it was going to be a jackass though and with about 15 minutes until the start I got in the LOOOONG line to use the porta potty. I amazingly made it to the start with a few  minutes to spare, but I’m couldn’t find Paula.

My A goal for this race was sub-53. I don’t know WHY, but I figured if I could run 53:xx during a half marathon I would be able to hit 52:xx during a 10K. Spoiler: I did not hit this goal. However, my B goal was to PR – and truthfully dealing with a crappy night’s sleep, allergies (my nose was a mess the ENTIRE run), and 95% humidity – I am very happy about hitting this goal!

The gun went off at 7:30. The first mile I went out I felt like I was continuously dodging people. I love Track Shack races, I really do, but I do not love how crowded the starts are. Or maybe it’s just the people lining up in their wrong pace groups? I was really spoiled at BDR a few weeks ago. I actually watched a dude totally cut off another dude and then practically come to a halt within the first half mile. He didn’t even apologize – but gave the person he cut off a dirty look! So rude.

In any case, unlike most races – the first mile was way slower than I expected. I saw it pop up on my Garmin and thought “GET MOVING woman.” Which explains the much faster 2nd mile! I don’t really remember much from these miles, by the way, except I was constantly staring at the ground trying not to trick on the brick. Oh, the brick. I always forget how much brick there is on this course. And hills. You can kind of tell there’s some elevation… it’s still Florida, but this is probably the hilliest race I run.

Random, but I also remember checking out all of the cute shorts that other women were wearing. Man, there are a lot of cute running shorts out there right now.

I kept it fairly steady until about Mile 4 when I thoughts – how did I run this fast 2 weeks ago? Hmmm… maybe if I hadn’t sat on my ass the entire week I could have been a little speedier? I reallllly slowed it down at Mile 5 because there was this guy who was running next to me and it was starting to drive me crazy. He would get in my space during turns (and there were a lot of turns) and then it felt like he was drafting me. Me no likey. So I let him run ahead of me – just enough to keep in eyesight.

Around Mile 5.75, I was ready to dig deep and just FINISH. So I pushed myself. It felt horrible, but there was this girl next to me who kept speeding up every time I sped up. And, duh, we were racing (I lost). Then I saw the dude. I knew I was going to pass him and finish before him – but I turned around as I passed him and shouted “Come on – let’s go!” He either thought I was a major bitch or just crazy because he did not. You better believe I beat him.

And FINALLY, I was done.

Garmin OFF. Lol.

My official results say my net time and my course time are the same – but my Garmin begs to differ.

• Course time/net time: 53:47
• Garmin time: 53:17

I definitely didn’t start immediately when the gun when off – but I’m going with their time if that means I’ll be able to PR again the next time I run a 10K. Although, hopefully it will be sub-53:00!

After the race, I grabbed my medal and some water — and immediately ran into Tyler – my new race buddy. This time, I remembered to take a picture!

I did not see him during the race this time (he finished sub 50:00 — so speedy!!), but it was great catching up with him afterwards. Sidenote: he ran Sarasota the day AFTER and PR’d there as well. What a rockstar!)

We then found Paula and a whole slew of other people we knew, including my coworker BK who ran his first 10k!

Man, I know a lot of runners! I love it.

So in short: There was a lot of brick and hills, I PR’d, I can still run faster and I will, and runners are the best

We’ll start this race recap on Saturday – the day before the race. I met Paula and Melissa at Relax Grill at Lake Eola.

Paula told me to be there at 12, but she really should have told me 11:30 and I would have been there at 12. Honestly, I tried to GET THERE at 12, but E took a long nap, the kids shoe laces needed to be tied, and Braeden INSISTED on making a loom band bracelet for Melissa. How could I say no?

So, yeah. We got there late, after trekking across downtown. I wanted to hurt people. But it was worth it for these pictures alone…

After lunch, Paula asked if I wanted to join them to get our bibs, but I passed. I think she was secretly relieved. Or not so secretly. I get that though. I would have been relieved as well. So, the rest of Saturday was pretty boring. OR SO I THOUGHT.

Just like nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, nobody expects the random puking baby. But that’s what happened. We still don’t really know why, but at around 9:30, as I was getting ready to go to bed, Evan started throwing up. At first I thought it was a fluke, but then he kept doing it. Poor baby Thankfully, he stopped after an hour and finally passed out (On me, of course. That kids wasn’t going anywhere). At least for a couple of hours. Around 2am he woke up and was hungry – so I fed him and waited to see if he kept it down. If he didn’t, I was going to cancel on the race. There was no way I was going to go run with a sick baby at home. But thankfully, he was fine and he passed out in his own crib – so the race was still on.

Needless to say though, 4:30 came really freaking early and my alarm was obnoxious.

But, instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, I got up, got dressed, did my hair/makeup, loaded some new music onto my iPod, and then pumped. I usually drink a cup of coffee, but I didn’t want to risk waking everyone up (especially E), so I counted on my Nuun with caffeine to give me the boost I needed (it did a little – but I really missed that cup of coffee). I also ate half of a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar and grabbed a Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar (<– my favorite pre-race food) for the road. I somehow remembered to bring EVERYTHING I needed too. #racedaymiracle

Around 5:50ish Paula arrived and we headed out.

Celebration is about 40 minutes from my house and we were running about 15-20 minutes behind schedule, so Paula hauled ass. Thankfully we didn’t run into any traffic and we parked within minutes of hitting the area. We could have parked closer, but didn’t realize it. Instead we run almost a mile to the start. I didn’t mind at the time, but in retrospect, that’s about a mile’s worth of energy I could have used at the end of the race.

So, we got to the start at 6:50ish. Melissa lined up near the front (she is super speedy), I lined up with the 3:55 marathon group (8:53 pace, I think), and Paula hit the porta-potties. I think it was the first time we didn’t line up together. Sad. We did get this stellar pre-race photo.

I know. I am quite the photographer.

After the National Anthem and a few directions/rules (that nobody could understand because it was all gargled)  the gun went off and within the first minute I was too.

The first mile flew by, as it always does. I quickly passed the 3:55 pace group and just settled into a fast (for me) pace. Here’s the thing I’ve realize about me during half marathons — I tend to burn out in the last few miles REGARDLESS of how fast I am running at the start. So, unlike a marathon (where I really need to start slow and build on my speed), going out fast works for me. So that’s what I did.

Now, of course, I would have Garmin problems. I’ve been using my Garmin without issue for the past month, but for some reason I hit some button on race day and I could ONLY see my lap time. It wasn’t a huge deal, but like OUC I didn’t know my total time and I had to remember which mile I was on. Oh, and did I mention that I hit the lap button at some point too? So it was even more jacked up? What can I say, I’m special.

I don’t really have a play by play of the miles, but I can tell you that things were going really well until about mile 5. The miles were just zipping by and while I was pushing my pace, it was completely doable. Then my left foot started hurting. Because I’m an idiot.

You know that phrase “You should never try anything new on race day?” Well, turns out people say that for a reason. A really good reason. I, stupidly, decided that race day would be a GREAT day to try out wearing double socks. I really like wearing my compression socks when I run long (it helps with my varicose veins SO SO much), but the Pro Compression socks do not offer much padding. And let me tell you – my orthotics are hard on my feet. So, I tried wearing my Thorlos WITH my compression socks. It sounded like a fantastic idea, until it wasn’t.

So yeah, around Mile 5 something (my sock, my shoe – who knows) started rubbing up against my left 2nd toe. And it hurt. Like a bitch. Like a BIG ONE. And it continued to hurt the rest of the time. I wanted to scream.

Still, I pressed on. Pain wasn’t going to stop me! At mile 7 though we hit some boardwalks, which my coworker aptly described as “the Swiss Family Robinson Adventure Trail.” Maybe they would have been AWESOME if I was by myself (they were definitely softer on my knees), but there were always about 3-4 people running beside me at any given time. Plus, the trail had waaaay too many zig zags. Mentally it broke me and it was SLOW mile.

Still, I was able to press on. I told myself I needed to keep running sub-9 minute miles until I hit Mile 11 if I wanted to PR. Obviously, I didn’t do that, but it kept me going. By Mile 11 though. I gave up the fight. The sporadic boardwalks were killing me mentally and my foot just hurt. I watched the 3:55 pace group pass me and I stopped “chasing” people.

I just wanted to be done. I kept thinking “WHY DO I DO THIS????” and “WHY WOULD WANT TO RUN A MARATHON??”

And then I closed in on the finish. I saw Melissa standing at the final turn and was just SO FREAKING HAPPY that the finish was close. She shouted “It’s RIGHT THERE!” and I picked up speed. I didn’t even look for my family because I wanted to be done. So, I have I mentioned that I just wanted to be done?

(Photo credit: Melissa!)

Apparently, Dan did not expect me to roll in so soon – although he was there at the finish with the kids. I didn’t see them though because I was THAT into getting this damn race over.

And then I saw the clock and I knew — I was going to PR. I didn’t know by how much, but I knew it was enough. And THAT right there? Is why I race.

I crossed the finish line and immediately saw Victoria and Katy and ran over to them. Or hobbled. Katy also PR’d and Victoria did amazing, considering that she woke up sick. I also met Kat for the first time. She PR’d AND got first in her age group! So much celebrating!! Melissa joined us (she won 2nd in HER age group – I am friends with so many fast people!) and we paparrazi’d ourselves.

Then all of a sudden Paula was there too — (btw, she didn’t even look like she fell).

(photo credit for some of these go to Katy!)

After a few pictures, everyone left and I found my family. I was tempted to go, but I wanted to enjoy the post-race party and cheer on a few friends running their first half-marathon so I grabbed a mimosa, some food, and a latte from Starbucks.

After that we went home and I PASSED OUT. So did E. I slept for almost 2 hours. He slept for 3.5 and then we  snuggled. It was just that kind of afternoon (I think he two front teeth he is cutting right now are really bothering him).

Later that night I celebrated.

Of course.

As far as my feelings on the race…

Considering it was an inaugural race, I thought it was REALLY well managed and planned.  The course was SUPER flat. Flatter than any other race I’ve done, but at times it was pretty boring and kinda stinky. I don’t know WHAT I was smelling, but every now and then I’d get a whiff and think about how much it stunk when we were in Savannah.

They were forthcoming about the boardwalks and the squeezed sidewalks before the race, but I obviously didn’t know what it entail. The after party was well done (I mean they had mimosas!), at least for the half marathoners. There was still food and drinks left when I left at least! They also had these great signs posted throughout the course (the best was the one that said “This may not be Disney, but we didn’t wake you up at 2am either.” Bwahaha!) for motivation.

Will I do it again? Probably. Will I ever do the full? Probably not. I cannot imagine running two loops of that course.

Do I have goals to run even FASTER? Yes. I don’t necessarily think that will be at my next race, but I’d really like to go sub 1:55 this year. Crazy? Yes, but also doable.

Why do you race? Is it the medal, the glory, the bragging rights, or because you’re a little crazy? Maybe all of the above?