"RESPECT THE DISTANCE."

Ok, so I know that plenty of folks out there regularly run long runs of 15-20+ miles.  I, however, am not there yet.  So having only run up to 7 miles before, I decided that yesterday I was going to at least make it that far.  The longest I had run since my 10k on March 31st was about 4 miles.  

I set out with as zen an attitude as I could muster and The New Pornographers on my iPod.  I tried to start out easy, smoothly moving along through mile 1.  When my Garmin beeped, my pace was about 11:21 -- what?!  That's not my "easy" pace!  My "easy" pace is (was) 12:30!  Ok, time to slow it down, I have to cover ground here.  So I slowed down (so I thought) and came in at mile 2 -- 11:26.  At that point I figured, hey, I've been increasing distance and doing speedwork, maybe my easy pace has improved!  So I just ran the rest of the run without looking at pace, only paying attention to distance and trying to focus on feedback from my body on what felt good.

It's amazing how much different 8 miles can feel than 7.  I found myself going through phases of feeling through this run, much like the rollercoaster of a relationship.  My internal dialogue shifted drastically mile to mile, something like this:

"Ouch, my calves are tight.  How long will it take for me to warm up?  This is hard."

"Ok, feeling good, feeling loose.  Nice and relaxed, easy.  Breathe.  I love this.  Beautiful evening."

"Breathe deep, don't panic.  It's ok.  Keep going.  Relax.  You can do this."

"OUCH PLEASE WANT TO STOP!  CAN.  I.  JUST.  STOP."

"Oh man, I am in such a groove.  I could do this all day.  This is awesome."

"I HAVE A GOD-GIVEN TALENT!  I AM A KENYAN!"

....and so it went, until I finally reached mile 8.  I couldn't believe I had done it, sore knees and all.  Success achieved!  When I finally stopped running I sort of had to regain my bearings, my legs were a bit noodley and I nearly fell down.  I had to walk it off for a minute, it kind of felt like when you get off a roller coaster and you still have that feeling of momentum.  When I started out the run it was bright sunlight outside, and I even had sunglasses on.  By the time I finished it was starting to get dark out and I had ditched the sunglasses.  Holy long run!

I came inside and got myself together, hydrated (I didn't bring any fluids but I may start stashing them under neighbor's bushes, I hate carrying things), and plugged in my Garmin to see my results out of curiosity.  Final verdict -- 8 miles in 1:33:13 with an average pace of 11:39.  WHOA!  My 10k race pace was 11:37.  I had no idea I had done this well.  I was just running what felt good at the moment.  Of course, everyone has those days that suck and those days that feel awesome, where you just say to yourself "Let's open this bitch up and see what she can do!"  This run had moments of badassness but I think due to the distance, I had my ups and downs.  But overall I am VERY happy with my performance and I can now add a new distance to my resume.  At this distance and with this time, I am right on course for my half marathon goal -- 13.1 miles in 2:30 (stretch goal of 2:25).  I could run the rest of my 5 miles at 12 minute pace and still be on course for this goal so I am very pleased.  I do, however, have a whole new appreciation for what "long runs" truly involve.  13.1 miles is a distance to be respected, and the marathon distance is just out of this world to me at this point.  But I am happy to see progress and am excited for the journey ahead.  (Sidenote: I also have my first black toe.  Icky, I know, but the third toe from the left on my left foot is black at the tip from yesterday's run!  I hate to admit it, but I'm kind of proud.  And grossed out.)

As most of you know, I also have a bit of a Lululemon addiction, and since I work at the mall I am in that store all the time.  I got some lovely items yesterday -- in particular, I really love anything in the Flash color (obnoxious neon pink).  The Cool Racerbacks are quite possibly my favorite item of clothing ever and are by far my favorite warm-weather running item of clothing.  They're all I reach for.  I think I have 7+ of them now.  Yesterday I got one in the lime color, as well as the Vinyasa scarf in Flash (been waiting on this for weeks!) and a special edition Swiftly Short Sleeve with the jacquard mesh.  Photos below!!

Vinyasa scarf in Flash

Cool Racerback with Vinyasa scarf

Special edition Swiftly Short Sleeve in Flash

Close-up of jacquard mesh detail in Swiftly Short Sleeve

Anyway, I need to stop spending money now because I'm pretty much broke.  But there always seems to be justification for new running clothes -- right?  I mean, I wear them, I work hard in them, they need to perform.  Or maybe that's just my "but I WANT IT!" self talking.  Ha.  

Time to rest up for speedwork tonight at the track -- fun!  That is, if I can manage to make my broken legs do much of anything, haha.  Hope your running week is going well!

MONUMENT AVENUE 10K RACE REPORT

Yes, I know.  It's been a while.  I've been preparing for my biggest race yet -- a 10k!  Between working retail, speed workouts at the track that have completely drained me of energy, and sleeping/eating I have been pretty scarce.  But now I have a race report for you!

After having completed two 5ks and an 8k, I decided that a 10k was my next challenge.  I had managed to cover 7 miles twice in training runs so I knew that the distance wouldn't be a problem.  (I like heading into a race knowing that I can at least finish the distance.)  My goal time was 1:15, which is about a 12 minute pace.  I finished the Sweetheart 8k back in February in 59:54, which is also about 12 minute pace, but it was also 21 degrees and my body felt like a big block of ice.  Anyway, I digress.

The Monument Avenue 10k is one of the largest 10ks in the country and regularly attracts 40,000+ participants.  So this was my first large race.  I was really excited about the expo; I'm such a sucker for products.  I racked up on a ton of freebies, including water bottles, cow bells, and free samples!  I also got three sparkly Bani Bands which I love -- they are adjustable, unlike Sweaty Bands.  I wore two of these bands to my race, a black sparkle and a pink sparkle!  Yeah!

I unfortunately couldn't sleep on Thursday or Friday night before the race on Saturday.  I had heard that it's ok if you don't sleep well the night before the race, it's the night BEFORE the night before that really counts.  So of course, I couldn't get to sleep just because I knew I should.  Awesome.  But once Saturday morning dawned, it felt like the morning of a field trip in middle school -- you're so excited, it doesn't matter that you're up before it's light!

My mom wanted to come to this race with me for support so we met her friend (who had run the race before) at a parking lot where we could leave our cars and carpooled.  We drove right to a deck and popped right in; considering the vast amounts of people, it was really well organized.  The wave starts really help, I think, as we had no trouble leaving either.  Once we walked to Monroe Park, the central location of partying/eating/prepping, you could tell it was a huge party atmosphere.  Corn dogs, funnel cakes, speakers blaring LMFAO, etc.  It was a sort of chilly drizzly morning, but that didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. 

I made the mistake of registering way too far back, in wave UB (70-75 min. finish time).  I didn't take into account that lots of slower runners/walkers hop ahead, so next year I will register up a few waves.  My wave started at 9:38 so we walked down there 20 mins. or so early, which worked out great.  I had enough time to get comfy, check my shoelaces, turn on my iPod, and get my Garmin going.  My Garmin didn't want to pick up a signal at first, I'm guessing due to the tall buildings and massive amounts of people.  Luckily it kicked in just as the start gun went off!

The start was super crowded -- there were 1500 people in my wave alone.  But once we got out of the first few twisty blocks and out onto Monument, it opened up a little bit.  I will say -- I had to keep dodging slower folks/walkers for the entirety of the race.  PLEASE -- if you are a walker -- don't stop in the middle of the road, and get to the right!!  I don't want to have to mow you over, but I signed up for this race in the appropriate wave to race it, so please move.  Ok, thanks.  (Also -- please don't toss your cup right into my path, or spit to your left when I'm right there.  Really.)

I am really familiar with Monument Avenue which was a blessing and a curse.  Sometimes in a race where the course is unfamiliar, not knowing how far away the finish line is sort of helps you to keep going.  But knowing how far I was from the finish was hard psychologically.  I made myself start really slow knowing that I really wanted to go all out the last few miles.  The adrenaline of all the people, the bands, and the cheer sections really make you want to pick it up.  It took a couple of miles for me to really feel loose, and after the halfway point I said to myself "Ok, all out, sister."  My 5k split was 37:xx (I just glanced at my Garmin) and I thought to myself "That's ok, it's on pace for your goal time, but you can do better."  Needless to say the second half hurt more than the first, and I left nothing on the course.

My splits were mostly negative, per the below:

Mile 1: 12:27

Mile 2: 11:55

Mile 3: 11:37

Mile 4: 11:26

Mile 5: 11:31

Mile 6: 11:10

Mile .2: 2:22

The last .2 miles were agonizing.  There is a series of small hills at this point of Monument, where you crest and dip a bit and you lose sight of the finish line.  You can see it from probably a half mile away and I was thinking "ALMOST THERE!"  Then dip, you go down the hill and you can't see it anymore.  You think it must be a million miles away.  Then, like an oasis in the desert, there it is again!  Sweet savior, you're nearly there!  With about a few hundred meters left I think I lost total control of my lower half.  My Garmin says my best pace was 6:45 so I think at this point a Kenyan must have possessed me, I was just ROLLING.  All I wanted was to finish, and finish I did -- under my goal time!  Final chip time was 1:12:27, beating my goal time of 1:15 and my own personal PR around the neighborhood of 1:13:48.  I am thrilled.

Me in the pink, having just crossed the finish line

I have heard a lot of people say that they love to run this race because of the cheer sections along the way, the bands, etc.  I can definitely see that.  But to tell you the truth, I had tunnel vision.  I tried to tune out the bands because I had my iPod, and though I saw the cheerleaders etc. on the sidelines, I didn't really take much of it in.  I was so focused on the road ahead and taking it a block at a time that what I remember are snapshots, tiny snippets of faces frozen in time here and there.  I kind of got into this zone where I didn't really let my mind drift too much because if I did, I got distracted and that's not the kind of runner I am.  When I try to remember the race itself I kind of feel like maybe I was coming out of amnesia; you know, how you remember some small moments here and there but overall, I can't really tell you much.  Hah.

I would definitely run this race again as it's a Richmond tradition and SO well done.  I really thought that the crowds would stress me out and really be a headache, but it was great.  If you're local to the Richmond area (or don't mind the travel) I'd definitely recommend this race.  A great time, a nice flat course, and a fab expo!  

More pics:

 

 Me being silly with all my pink, including glitter nail polish.  Runners also got White House rolls at the finish; they are so epically delicious.

Mommy and me

I was so happy after finishing this race, both with my time and the overall experience of a larger, longer race that I registered for the American Family Fitness Half Marathon this November!  I'm officially training for a half marathon, how crazy is that.  I can't wait!!