Westendgirl
"Oh my god!!"
Words that escaped my mouth several times after I crossed
the finish line of this, my first 10K. I was hoping for a
good race-and did that, and then some.
I was coming off a mildly disappointing Corporate Challenge
on Wednesday-done in the disgusting 90+ degree weather, I
did it in 30:49-still pretty good considering the weather,
not the sub-30 I was hoping for-I totally bombed the first
mile due to the overcrowding (splits
10:03/8:24/8:19/4:03.) So I decided to cut my losses and aim
for running a good Mini.
Now, based on my previous race times, I figured around an
8:30-8:45 pace for a 10K would be realistic, if I could get
low 8's it would be fabulous. The weather was perfect for
racing-low 70's and very low humidity. There's this whole
"girl power" vibe in the air. Additionally, this was the
first race I was affiliated with my running club, so I was a
little more motivated to run a good race. Somehow-everything
just came together today.
Mile 1 starts up Central Park West-pretty much
flat...teensiest bit of a hill-but child's play compared to
the park. I was afraid of doing this mile too fast, so I ran
it at a pace that felt pretty comfortable. Imagine my shock
when I hit the first mile marker in 7:36. It freaked me out
a little bit, so I slowed it down a little bit for mile 2,
which I did in 7:57.
Then came the difficult part-the northern hills. Mile 3
included an uphill and then a big downhill, which I did
pretty well on-hitting mile 3 in 7:58 and the 5K point at
24:41. Then came mile 4 and the steepest uphill of the
course, and even a coupla more minor uphills. Mile 4 was my
slowest at
11:22, but no worries-it was a tough mile and I knew the
worst of it was over.
Then it hit me: unless I screwed up big time, I was gonna
sub-50 this baby. And I didn't screw up. Mile 5 had Cat Hill
going downhill-hit that in
11:1...mile 6 around the bottom of the park clocked in at
7:42. With the finish line in sight, I gave that last
.2 mile my all and finished that in
12:39-for a finishing time of 48:59!!! (average pace 7:54) I
must have said "Oh my God" at least 10 times after I finished-
I was still in disbelief that I did this!!
I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it
happened...maybe consistency is just paying off. Or I had a
bit of a taper this week-rested Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday due to doing 2 races, so I was really good to go for
today. Or maybe this is my reward for suffering through
Wednesday. :)
But seriously, after a kick-ass performance like today, I'm
really looking forward to what's to come with my racing-be
it this year, the next and further on down the line.
-Lara
:)
--
"If God is a DJ...life is a dance floor... you get what
you're given...it's all how you use it..."
Words that escaped my mouth several times after I crossed
the finish line of this, my first 10K. I was hoping for a
good race-and did that, and then some.
I was coming off a mildly disappointing Corporate Challenge
on Wednesday-done in the disgusting 90+ degree weather, I
did it in 30:49-still pretty good considering the weather,
not the sub-30 I was hoping for-I totally bombed the first
mile due to the overcrowding (splits
10:03/8:24/8:19/4:03.) So I decided to cut my losses and aim
for running a good Mini.
Now, based on my previous race times, I figured around an
8:30-8:45 pace for a 10K would be realistic, if I could get
low 8's it would be fabulous. The weather was perfect for
racing-low 70's and very low humidity. There's this whole
"girl power" vibe in the air. Additionally, this was the
first race I was affiliated with my running club, so I was a
little more motivated to run a good race. Somehow-everything
just came together today.
Mile 1 starts up Central Park West-pretty much
flat...teensiest bit of a hill-but child's play compared to
the park. I was afraid of doing this mile too fast, so I ran
it at a pace that felt pretty comfortable. Imagine my shock
when I hit the first mile marker in 7:36. It freaked me out
a little bit, so I slowed it down a little bit for mile 2,
which I did in 7:57.
Then came the difficult part-the northern hills. Mile 3
included an uphill and then a big downhill, which I did
pretty well on-hitting mile 3 in 7:58 and the 5K point at
24:41. Then came mile 4 and the steepest uphill of the
course, and even a coupla more minor uphills. Mile 4 was my
slowest at
11:22, but no worries-it was a tough mile and I knew the
worst of it was over.
Then it hit me: unless I screwed up big time, I was gonna
sub-50 this baby. And I didn't screw up. Mile 5 had Cat Hill
going downhill-hit that in
11:1...mile 6 around the bottom of the park clocked in at
7:42. With the finish line in sight, I gave that last
.2 mile my all and finished that in
12:39-for a finishing time of 48:59!!! (average pace 7:54) I
must have said "Oh my God" at least 10 times after I finished-
I was still in disbelief that I did this!!
I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it
happened...maybe consistency is just paying off. Or I had a
bit of a taper this week-rested Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday due to doing 2 races, so I was really good to go for
today. Or maybe this is my reward for suffering through
Wednesday. :)
But seriously, after a kick-ass performance like today, I'm
really looking forward to what's to come with my racing-be
it this year, the next and further on down the line.
-Lara
:)
--
"If God is a DJ...life is a dance floor... you get what
you're given...it's all how you use it..."
