Brag {10k}

This morning was my first 10k!! This post might be all over the place because I have so much to write about. I was seriously writing it in my head as I ran! Each kilometer marker I had thoughts about the race I wanted to share.

First let me start with a brief introduction of who I run with. 

Lisa

Blanca

Linda

Cay

Now lets make it confusing for you =)

Linda is the owner Cholitas (where I work) Blanca is married to Linda's son. Cay is Linda's sister and Lisa is Cay's daughter.

I threw this in here to tell you a little story about our first 5k. About 3 minutes into running the St. Patty's Day 5k we noticed Linda was ahead of us. If you remember I was sick and didn't want to try to catch up and risk not finishing the race, however, Blanca knew that she couldn't let Linda (her mother in law) beat her because her hubby would rub it in till the day she died. She took off like a bat out of haydes =)

That story had nothing to do with our race today but I wanted to share. 

I woke this morning at 4:30am to feed Mason and instantly heard thunder. Great, we were going to be running in rain. I got to the race where it was straight down pouring. Luckily by race time the rain had completely stopped! It was cool out and I was excited to begin. I ran with Blanca because we have about the same pace. Lisa is super fast, Linda is usually just behind us and Cay right behind that. 

The first 3 kilometers were easy, we have been running 5k's so I wasn't worried about the first 3-4 miles. Right after passing the 3k mark (THIS MAY BE TMI, BE AWARE!!) a lady decided she needed to...ummm... use the bathroom and not just pee. She, kid you not, stepped off the path literally one step, pulled down her pants and started doing her business. Blanca and I were completely disgusted. To make matters worse when she was finished she sprinted in front of us still in the process of pulling up her pants so we were completely mooned! Talk about weird!

We hit the half way mark at 29 minutes. I knew we needed to keep pace or speed up in order to finish in goal time of 60 minutes. My last 5k was ran in 28:20 and Blanca had finished 30 or so seconds in front of me. We started out slower hoping to not use all our energy too soon. Right after passing the 5k mark my music stopped. I realized I was in my 5k playlist so I had listened to all the songs. I had to unlock my ipod, find a new playlist and lock it back up all while keeping my pace and trying not to run into anything/one.

The next 2 kilometers (6&7) Blanca pushed me. She kept her pace and even sped up a bit. 

There was a loop where we passed runners that were just ahead of us. When we entered this loop we passed Linda. She was still right behind us (she has told us she wasn't sure how far after the 3 mile mark she would be able to keep running). This was like super motivation for Blanca I think. I felt her speed up a bit and she said "3 more to go".

Between 7-8 I struggled to keep up with her, you couldn't tell because I was right next to her but my head was playing games. I wasn't winded or tired but I felt twice my weight. I was heavy and trying my hardest to stay loose.

Throughout the 8th K we passed the area where they were grilling food for after the race. BBQ filled the air. There were a ton of people lined up cheering us on. The atmosphere was AWESOME! 

We hit the 9k at 53 minutes. We had been averaging a 6:20ish kilometer. I was all the sudden bursting with energy. The only thing in my mind was this...

It has been my motivation the last 2 weeks while running.

I sped up. I didn't get this far to not make my goal time. I knew the last leg of the path because Lisa and I had ran the loop the previous weekend on little run we took. Could we make it in 58?

  All the sudden I felt something on my shins. My right shoe was untied and slapping my shins. I wasn't stopping, we had 6 minutes left and I wasn't going to miss my time!!

Not 20 seconds later my other shoe came untied. I was worried about stepping on them or someone behind me stepping on them. My pace was faster than it had been all race and now I was pushing Blanca!! We hit the final 50 feet (?  I am bad at judging distance) and Blanca yells "sprint". We both took off and finished at the exact same time.

My gymboss had me at 58:54!! We finished in under 60 and with a minute to spare! The official clocked time was just a second different, 58:55.

Wow, I am so surprised and happy how awesome I did. I never thought I could run 6 full miles and in under a 10/mile pace. Running with Blanca is what made it possible. I have a horrible time battling my head when I run. I don't normally run till I can't go another step. I feel I have decent endurance but I let my mind tell me when I am done. I get bored running alone, I let my heavy legs quit pushing, I say "3 miles is enough" and go home. I knew I had to keep with Blanca if I was going to run the whole thing and in goal time. If I let her get ahead I would lose the battle with myself. She pushed me most of the way and I was able to push her the last leg.

I had an absolute blast running today. The first time I was asked to run a 5k I laughed thinking "I am not a runner". When they mentioned a 10k I thought it was impossible.

It's not

and it is fun. 

Next up is the Gladiator Run next Saturday. A 5k obstacle course!