Today was the Charlottesville Ten Miler and I am happy to report that I had a much better experience this year. I'm not sure if I felt better because I knew what to expect more or if I ate better or trained better but either way it was a nice way to feel.
I rode to the race with my friend Laura, same as last year. We started the race together but I quickly realized that her pace was faster than I felt comfortable with so I stopped trying to match her and settled into a more comfortable race. I've noticed that I am very hesitant to push myself to run faster during races. I have a real history with lightheadedness and I worry that if I push myself harder I will not be able to finish a race. Passing out during a race is a real fear of mine.
Lat year I think I just ate an orange and half a banana before the race. Laura had mentioned that she likes to eat a lot of protein and normally has a few hard boiled eggs the morning of so I decided to try it this year and I think it helped a lot. So this year I had a hard boiled egg, an orange (we had no bananas) and 2 Cadbury chocolate mini eggs. I drank 3 Naglene water bottles on Friday and was in bed by 9:40. I slept better than last year too which was great because Laura picked me up at 6:15. This race starts at 7:15 which I love. The earlier the better in my opinion. I think this is largely because I am out running by 5:50 most mornings so my body is used to going earlier.
It was about 37 degrees which is great running weather. I was very tempted to wear capri's but opted for pants and my most light weight long sleeve shirt. It was warm but worked out well enough. We met up with our friend Katie and visited before the race and then went our separate ways.
Training for this race was really enjoyable. I was nervous this morning because I felt like I did not train as well as I did last year but I actually think I did better this year. I may have even been a little overtrained last year. Because of our cruise I did less long runs. I ran 9 miles, my longest run before the race on Saturday March 09th and then ran only 3 miles three times March 11- 16. My training schedule had me set to run 4, 4, and 9 but I just couldn't make those distances work while we were traveling. This week I ran 4 miles Tuesday and then the race today. I planned to run 3 miles on Thursday but it was rainy so I skipped it. I can't say for sure that this is what made the race more enjoyable but I think it did factor in to it.
I think it was also more enjoyable because I knew how hard this course was. This year I tried very hard to pay attention to where Iw as running. To check out the old houses and beautiful flowers. Charlottesville is getting close to full bloom which is always beautiful. I also enjoyed running around UVA more now that I work there and have more association with the school. I actually ran by my building twice. I also really tried to respond to the crowds cheering the runners on. There were so many supportive people and they had hilarious signs and music and cowbells. There was even a crazy pumped up cycling class around mile 7.5 which was one of my worst spots last year. The gym had tons of instructors out cheering and 12 - 15 exercise bikes out. They were actually holding a full class outside while we ran by. It was bizarre and a great distraction. I stopped and drank water at each station. Often I try to do the run while drinking thing which is super awkward but this year I took my water cup and slowed down to a quick walk. Just past mile 6 there was a family who put out a bowl of Hershey kisses and I seriously think that Hershey kiss and the gatorade at mile 8 saved me. I was feeling really light headed around mile 7 and was just praying there was another station with gatorade to help my blood sugar. It also helped that I knew there was a big hill right before the finish line. (So rude!) The race went really well and I am so glad it was a more positive experience. I was quite a bit slower this year, my split was 51:29 so a 10:33 per mile pace but I'm cool with that. I was looking at some numbers that came with my results and I was number 1490 out of 1958. Its crazy how many people run this race! Its super popular.
There was no finish line to run under this year which was a bummer!
It's always such a great feeling to see it ahead and cross over it.
re-reading my post about last years race and am shocked at how different I felt this year. About 2 months ago I finally took my medal from last year off my nightstand and hung it up on a wall in our bedroom. On the medal it says "finisher" and I have come to really take that word as sort of my mantra. I mentioned this to Mark as we walked to the car after the race and he asked me if that was what I wanted on my tombstone. It was bizarre but is not a bad idea.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I eventually took Jared and Lydia to play at a school playground and then took a nap when we got home. We cleaned the basement and Lydia's room and Lydia, Jared and I did a lot of reading while Mark watched a lot of basketball and rested up. I have no idea if I will run the ten miler next year. I don't feel as much as a need since it was a better experience but we will see. I think I want to try a half marathon but I will have to find the right one.
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