Race Day Recap!

As I mentioned in the pre-race post, despite a solid training plan, my day-before-race-day preparations were not exactly smart.  I actually went to bed pretty nervous that I'd really messed up, worn myself out, and that I wouldn't make it past the starting line without falling in a heap to take a nap.

Happily, my anxieties were for naught, and I woke up feeling good, energetic, and ready to run.  Danny and our nephew Justin came with me, and Danny's mom and sister stayed behind to watch Addie.  Girl needed her morning nap, since it was really her big day - birthday party was to start at 3:00pm sharp!

You know you're running a small, local race when right before the MC is about to shout "On your mark..." he interrupts himself and asks the runners closest to the start line to "help move those barricades out of the way!"  That got a nice chuckle out of all the runners, as did the fact that his starting gun wouldn't fire and he ended up saying, "Aw heck, GO!"

Since I hadn't trained for a specific time goal, I started out easy.  My coach (Danny) and I planned that I would do the race in "fours" - four miles easy, four miles at a good pace, and the last four miles as fast as I could (plus another 1.1 miles...).  I was feeling really good, so after the first couple easy miles I picked it up a bit, and mostly ran negative splits the rest of the way.

I was so glad Danny and Justin were there - they ran probably 5 or 6 miles, sprinting between points on the course to cheer me on and drop in encouraging coach-like remarks: "Looking strong!"  "Relax your arms!"  "OK, you can definitely pick it up a bit this next mile!"  Good thing they were there, since they were just about the only fans on the entire course.  (Lame, Roanokers, lame.)

A time ignorance is bliss is when it comes to how hilly a race course is.  I had nooo clue how many hills this bad boy would have.  Things were pretty up and down the first 6 miles, and then miles 7 and 8 were literally two miles uphill, with zero breaks.  I heard lots of creative language from the other runners around me, who also were surprised at this little gift.  I kept things clean with my newly-coined mantra: "you're not pushing a stroller, you're not pushing a stroller..."  All those runs (and hill workouts!) pushing another human paid off, because somehow I survived those two miles and still felt pretty good.

The final four was really fun.  I was really thirsty, but also excited about my mile splits and of course, about finishing.  I ended up with a PR by almost 3 minutes - 1:43:12.  Certainly not a time to go writing to Runners World about, but I was really pleased, especially to beat my previous best time.

my crew post race!

 
Probably the best part of the whole experience might sound a little silly, but I'm sure fellow runners can relate.  I decided to do this race just for fun, to get back into the swing of "real" running post-baby.  I would've been happy just to finish and enjoy it.  Getting a PR though, was the icing on the cake.  Running has been really important to me for the last 6 years or so, but becoming a mom has been one of the most important things of my whole life.  I had no clue how it would affect my running side.  This race showed me I can carry a child for 9.5 months and give birth and be a MOM.  I can get older (ok ok, I know I'm still young, and still feel like I'm 18, but I'm certainly not that young anymore).  And along with those changes, I can still run.  In fact, I can run even better than I did before.  I can get out of bed every morning, suit myself and my kid up, and thank God for a body that works and a great stroller and a beautiful area to enjoy this crazy sport.

Discovering all that?  Definitely worth the entry fee.  The race hoodie is pretty sweet, too. :)