8/26/06: Race #1-Caliente 10K in Killeen, TX!
I decided to take advantage of a weekend out of Houston and do a little running. Notice, I did NOT say racing. My body isn't ready for any of that. Well, so I thought. But since the 10k is my favorite distance to run, I wasted no time in signing up for this one right outside of my home town that I found out about. I saw it as a 'welcome back to running' celebration.
The race was small...maybe only 100 people. I saw a lot of the same faces from the Jackrabbit 10k though (back in May), and that was pretty cool. Weird about the race? We didn't get race numbers...just 'pull tabs' that we wore pinned on our shirts. More on that later. I was worried on how I was going to hold up, my stomach was very upset due to the past sauce I has eaten the night before. I pulled though though-that feeling generally goes away the second I go running.
The weather was cool...but with a 7am start, it was quickly warming up. We didn't end up starting until almost 7:15am, another annoyance, but not a big deal. I set myself about midpack, knowing that there were people that were going to walk, and I saw people that I set myself next to before, so I knew their pace. I then saw Michelle, the girl I went to high school with, and knew instantly I had to finish in front of her. That became my only goal for the race now.
I ended up losing the splits to the race, but I finished the first mile about 8:37 or so. Too fast, but I felt strong and that mile flew by. Mile 2 was into the wind (ughh!) and slower. The water station's water was freezing, but felt great splashed on me and my head. Mile 3 was starting to feel like 'survival' mode already, which scared me a little. And there was no water. It wasn't too hot (yet!) but still!
Mile 4 finally saw a water station and I grabbed two cups without stopping and sipped on them for a few minutes. I must say I think I have mastered drinking on the run (more on THAT later!) and am able to hit a water stop, not break stride and grab water, and slow down only enough to drink and not lose my breath. We started to hit some small rolling hills. I knew I was going to be hurting.
Mile 5 was the last water station (why they would put only 3 on the course, spaced out mile 2, 4,5 is beyond me). The hills were brutal becuase they were long and two of them were pretty steep (not like the Jackrabbit race steep though!) I know from good advice though to hammer through the downhills, so that's esactly what I did. I know it does a number on my quads, but I was able to pass at least 10 people hammering the downhills. Mile 6 couldn't come soon enough (back into the wind, i think) and I felt a blister starting on my big right toe. Ouch.
I am pretty sure the course was measured wrong, as my split for the last 1.2 miles was 8.37. Ahh well, I put in a good fight to the finish, for sure. I felt my emotions starting to overwhelm me. Here i was, about to come close to PRing on a race that I had no plan to race and I felt like the king of the world. I kicked it into high gear for the last .2 mile (I guess, I didn't see a mile marker for mile 6!) and finished strong. I FINISHED STRONG.
I ripped my pull tab off and immediately tried to catch my breath. I starting bawling as I caught my breath. Wow...emotions were flooding me. All I could think about was what i just did...and how i was coming back from injury. Strongly.
That moment in time freaking RULED.
I ended up winning (but not!) my age-group with a (un)official/official time of 52.10. The reason why I say it that way is that the race was tab timed, and due to the fact my name wore off my tab, I never got recognized for placing. I was actually told after the awards ceremony i was second in my age group, but the girl that supposedly 'won' finished AT LEAST 2 minutes AFTER ME...hmm. Add to the fact that this race was timed by the Park's Recreation department, so I don't really think the credibility in their timing was all there, ah well.
A great one, overall, and now off to the next race of the day!
The STATS:
6.2miles
official time: 52.10
Ave. 8:23/mile!
Heart-rate: n/a
Weather: not bad, but windy at mile 2 and 4 and the sun was bright...
I decided to take advantage of a weekend out of Houston and do a little running. Notice, I did NOT say racing. My body isn't ready for any of that. Well, so I thought. But since the 10k is my favorite distance to run, I wasted no time in signing up for this one right outside of my home town that I found out about. I saw it as a 'welcome back to running' celebration.
The race was small...maybe only 100 people. I saw a lot of the same faces from the Jackrabbit 10k though (back in May), and that was pretty cool. Weird about the race? We didn't get race numbers...just 'pull tabs' that we wore pinned on our shirts. More on that later. I was worried on how I was going to hold up, my stomach was very upset due to the past sauce I has eaten the night before. I pulled though though-that feeling generally goes away the second I go running.
The weather was cool...but with a 7am start, it was quickly warming up. We didn't end up starting until almost 7:15am, another annoyance, but not a big deal. I set myself about midpack, knowing that there were people that were going to walk, and I saw people that I set myself next to before, so I knew their pace. I then saw Michelle, the girl I went to high school with, and knew instantly I had to finish in front of her. That became my only goal for the race now.
I ended up losing the splits to the race, but I finished the first mile about 8:37 or so. Too fast, but I felt strong and that mile flew by. Mile 2 was into the wind (ughh!) and slower. The water station's water was freezing, but felt great splashed on me and my head. Mile 3 was starting to feel like 'survival' mode already, which scared me a little. And there was no water. It wasn't too hot (yet!) but still!
Mile 4 finally saw a water station and I grabbed two cups without stopping and sipped on them for a few minutes. I must say I think I have mastered drinking on the run (more on THAT later!) and am able to hit a water stop, not break stride and grab water, and slow down only enough to drink and not lose my breath. We started to hit some small rolling hills. I knew I was going to be hurting.
Mile 5 was the last water station (why they would put only 3 on the course, spaced out mile 2, 4,5 is beyond me). The hills were brutal becuase they were long and two of them were pretty steep (not like the Jackrabbit race steep though!) I know from good advice though to hammer through the downhills, so that's esactly what I did. I know it does a number on my quads, but I was able to pass at least 10 people hammering the downhills. Mile 6 couldn't come soon enough (back into the wind, i think) and I felt a blister starting on my big right toe. Ouch.
I am pretty sure the course was measured wrong, as my split for the last 1.2 miles was 8.37. Ahh well, I put in a good fight to the finish, for sure. I felt my emotions starting to overwhelm me. Here i was, about to come close to PRing on a race that I had no plan to race and I felt like the king of the world. I kicked it into high gear for the last .2 mile (I guess, I didn't see a mile marker for mile 6!) and finished strong. I FINISHED STRONG.
I ripped my pull tab off and immediately tried to catch my breath. I starting bawling as I caught my breath. Wow...emotions were flooding me. All I could think about was what i just did...and how i was coming back from injury. Strongly.
That moment in time freaking RULED.
I ended up winning (but not!) my age-group with a (un)official/official time of 52.10. The reason why I say it that way is that the race was tab timed, and due to the fact my name wore off my tab, I never got recognized for placing. I was actually told after the awards ceremony i was second in my age group, but the girl that supposedly 'won' finished AT LEAST 2 minutes AFTER ME...hmm. Add to the fact that this race was timed by the Park's Recreation department, so I don't really think the credibility in their timing was all there, ah well.
A great one, overall, and now off to the next race of the day!
The STATS:
6.2miles
official time: 52.10
Ave. 8:23/mile!
Heart-rate: n/a
Weather: not bad, but windy at mile 2 and 4 and the sun was bright...
posted by Jessica, a Austin Runner AND triathlete at
8:06 AM
1 Comments:
WAY TO GO, Jess! What an awesome race and incredible comeback. It was emotional just to read. I understand how emotional you must have been.
By
Unknown, at Fri Sep 01, 10:05:00 AM
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