2nd race: United Way 10K

RACE 10K in 54:32.
Ave pace 8:41m/m. Ave cad 173.
7th OA female/~70-80. 1st/9 AG!!

In the summer with the heat, 8am is a relatively late start for a race. The temps were expected to be at or near 90 by mid-morning, full sun, but hey you know me -- I like this stuff. Embrace the Suck.

Up early to prep, low carb meal but I had some raisins yesterday with some banana in the evening. Some GI upset over this in the morning, but it didn't last. There's really not much to say here, unremarkable really. It's just a run!

Arrived early since I was a late registrant and ended up with 40 mins pre race to finalize my goals. Still didn't have clear goals! I put on head phones and walked, walked, a little bit of jogging, walked. I ended up with 6000 steps before the race. And still didn't have goals. I did my best to ignore the other runners with their pre-race routines -- routines I'd normally be doing! -- and just walked. Should I walk every mile, every 2 miles? How long? 1 minute or 2 minutes? What if I don't want to walk, should I keep going? Ugh, never settled on a plan.

The start was quiet too, I had to ask another woman "is this also the 10K start?" due to lack of announcements. And then GO. I did start towards the front-middle of the pack, but I didn't walk across the line or into the first mile. Damn it enough walking!

The Garmin was still set to autolap each mile, and the first mile was something like an 8:15!! So I walked, but only 20 seconds. Too soon, too many passing me. UGH. Next mile into Fenton Park was also sub 8:30. I started the narrative in my head, how I would report this. Thoughts like, I tried to run with guys who weren't going fast. But then I passed the guys. I tried to run so that I could sing my music as measure of breath and effort. But then I kept running anyway. I tried to .... blah blah blah. LOL, I did try!

The 5K and 10K split and we headed for the path along the Meramac River. This set me up for the next challenge, one I didn't recognized until my prerace walking -- due to the out-n-back nature of the course I'd be able to count and measure the number and proximity of the other women runners. I tried... haha... to not count but of course I did. I counted I think 6 ahead of me, the woman I'd talked to at the start was behind me but not close. Mental Machinations. Chewing. Thinking like my HR -- too fast.

But as I hit the turn around, I was able to relax. I got a sense that even if I did walk no one would catch me. That didn't stop my from peeking over my shoulder, but it did encourage me to walk 30-60s a few times in the last 2 miles.  By the time I got to >5 miles, my HR was amp'd up too high, my legs were getting worn down, and I wanted down. Initially I'd bargained with myself, that if I held to goals and still felt good I could run the last mile as fast as I wanted. But by the time I got there, I was already going fast as I wanted, which ended up being slower than the first 4 miles, and I had nothing left to give. Crossed the line happy, pain-free, and sort sick to my stomach. Awesome Sausage!

The OA female finished in 37 mins! And 54 mins is 11-12 mins off my PR pace. So room for improvement there.

But what about the mental goals? Did I accomplish them? Hmmmm. JH said to let people pass me, he didn't specify whether or not I should re-pass them..... But let's be honest here, did I have control in this race? I made a point to check my form, I think that's somewhat reflected in the high cadence. I pushed for that "springing forward" feeling, the "push the leg back, not pull the leg forward", the short fast ground contact. When I did this I sped up more, good and bad there.

But I didn't have the control to walk. When I did stop to walk the people passing me were like a wave pushing me forward in my mind. I felt like a rock on the shore being washed over and left as the waves receded. It only made me walk faster, then it wasn't restful, and I only got worked up over it doubly.

I wondered, which is harder in terms of self control? To run a hard race at your personal limit? Or to throttle yourself back to slow down as needed? One is physically taxing, the other mentally. I think the mentally taxing one is harder -- to dial it back and stay focused on your own run, and not your run in relation to a clock or the field around you.

So....did I pass this?