Yes, a Freedom Run! The Desert Warrior 10k - a small race at the Augusta Canal, put on by Airmen who were raising money for the upcoming Air Force ball.
It's been a year and a half since I ran my first and only 10k, so I've kind of been itching to do another one for awhile now. My goal for today? New PR, plus an award if I could pull it off. My other 10k time was 56:52 or something like that. I needed a pace under 9:12. The Canal is flaaaaat, so I didn't think this would be too difficult to pull off.
I was really nervous this morning. The past several days have been a struggle as my body adjusts to Metformin. I'm tired, dizzy, and my stomach is a wreck. I haven't run or been to the gym at all since I started taking the meds. This was gonna make for a pretty interesting race!
I got out there a bit late so I didn't really have time to warm up. I was just anxious to start running. And I did. A couple guys and a girl were way out in front, then a group of 3 (2 girls and 1 guy) were just ahead of me for the first 2 miles. I played it pretty conservatively in the beginning. There was a guy in a white shirt who was behind me THE WHOLE TIME. I was so paranoid about him passing me! Also his hand kept hitting his bib and it was kinda driving me nuts, lol. A girl in a dark purple shirt was with us for awhile and passed me once, but I overtook her again and that was the last I saw of her.
Miles 3-4 were rough. I wanted to die. My stomach was really pissed. I maintained my pace around 8:45-9:00 but really had to dig deep and mentally will myself to keep going at that speed. The white shirt guy was still hot on my heels. The group of 3 in front of me was starting to break up - 1 guy and girl were getting far ahead, but the girl in the light purple shirt was dropping behind. At this point I kind of started to get a second wind. I passed the girl and the guy in the white shirt, and that was the last I saw of them!
Mile 5 I was still going pretty strong but I could feel myself tiring. I kind of shut my brain off at this point. The last mile was broken up into increments. Only .5 left... .3 left... and there was the finish line!
54:28! A pace of 8:45 min/mile. Take that, old PR!
Within 30 seconds of me crossing the finish line, the really fast girl who was way out ahead decided to strike up a conversation with me. Her name is Aubrey - turns out she knows some of my Team RWB buddies! We chatted about past and upcoming races, seems like we're looking to run alot of the same events so I should be seeing her again soon. I felt bad for her though... Aubrey was clearly the first female finisher, but they gave the award to the girl who actually came in second! Aubrey said she finished at least 3 minutes ahead of that girl, which I know to be true because I watched both of them in front of me. I told her she should say something to the staff but she didn't really care. She was really chill about it - I would have said something if it was me!
No awards for me, but I'm happy I did so well today! It was definitely a "I'm going to die" pace, but I'm glad I gave it my best and didn't hold back. I think they said there were only like 18 people who did the 10k, and I figure I finished 6th overall, 3rd female. Not bad.
And I got some cupcakes - one of which was free!
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| Cherry Cheesecake, Red Velvet |
Time to lie down on the couch and rest up a bit!
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