MRTT Running Mad 10k

I kind of hit the jackpot with my local Moms Run This Town group. Our chapter puts on some awesome events. A few times a year, the national group holds a virtual event. Most people sign up through them, they do their miles on their own time, get their medal in the mail. But my local chapter makes it a big deal. We set a time and place, and we all do it together. There is a well mapped course, great moral support, lots of local moms and swag. We did the Winter Runnerland in January, and our group got together this past Saturday to do the Running Mad 5k/10k. I went into this race hopeful. The previous week I had killed my 6 mile run. I knew I was looking at a PR for this 10k. Now to be fair, the last official 10k time I had is from last October, and I was still rather fresh from the running mother's womb. I've run that distance here and there, but not for several months and I had not beat the time of 1:09:54 that I had last year. I was so close last week during my weekend long run, but the end of my route stopped me 1/10 of a mile short, so I refused to count it. One thing was different from last Sunday though. It. Was. Nasty. Outside.

100% humidity without it actually raining. A few of the girls needed extra miles that day so they met for 5 miles before the race. When they came back, they were just soaked. I didn't think it felt that hot out there, but I was very glad that I decided to bring my water belt with me. I had hydrated well the day before, close to a gallon of water just to be on the safe side. Before the run I downed my Gu and my Energy Bits(Breakfast of Champions, yo) and some Powerade(which I normally try to stay away from). We set off and I could already tell I was coming out of the gate too fast. I looked at my Garmin and saw I was running at under a 9 minute mile, which is way fast for me on a cool day. I slowed down a bit. On a side note, I'm really pleased with the fact that I've learned to control my pace. It wasn't long before I was soaked in sweat. But I still felt ok. I managed right at 10 minute miles for the first 5k. The 2nd 5k brought hills. As my BRF Patty says, hills are our own personal Wil Wheaton. Hills are my arch nemesis.

For over a half of a mile, a slow and steady up hill. I was already hot and this long uphill climb was not my friend. But I kept climbing. Sure, I climbed slower than I had been going, but I kept going. This 5k was an out and back loop so it meant on the way back, I would be able to make up the slow ascent with a rapid descent. This gave me a bit of comfort. I made my way through the final 5k and even in the heat, I knew I was still looking at a PR, the only question was how much time would I shave off? That same hill coming back down, with the combo of the gummies I'd eaten and one of my favorite songs popping up on my IPhone, and I was feeling good. I made my way back to the finish, and I hit it, my PR. Here I am, checking my Garmin, and smiling in sweaty pleasure.

There it is, 1:05:26, exactly 4 minutes and 28 seconds better than my previous PR. I was hot, I was salty, I was literally dripping with liquid awesome. I have been advised by a fellow running club member that it is not sweat, it is liquid awesome. But either way, I was dripping, I don't think I have ever been so sweaty, er awesome, before. But I was happy.

Happy, yes, but satisfied? No, not completely. I know I can do better, given better conditions. So I have decided to sign up for another 10k at the end of September, the weekend before the Lungstrong 15k. While I will have to face climbing up Captain Johnson(this is foreshadowing people, you will have to wait until that race report to be formally introduced to the Captain), I still think I can make good time in this race. Until then, I'll stay awesome with this race.