Girls on the Go 10K

That's right people, a real race report! Girls on the Go Race Event

I didn't take a ton of pictures as today was a real touch-and-go scenario. I have been out of the game for a while and I just wasn't sure how I was going to approach the day. Here are my notes:

"The difference of this run and others I have registered for is that this one isn't a test of any kind. It is simply a celebration of how far I have come. It is a 4-month milestone of no particular significance except to celebrate and prove to myself that I am back!

Goals: To break 14-minute/mi, To not get caught up in race excitement...to listen to my body and go nice and easy instead."

I managed to get up early, have a bit of an outfit thrown together and hit the road around 5:45 to head down to Mission Bay (It takes about 45 minutes).

After a quick pit-stop I arrived around 6:45 and it was already really busy. The parking area was filling fast and it was a bit of a walk to get to the start line/expo area. I had not picked up my bib ahead of time, which I immediately regretted. The line was super long!

It stretched even beyond the trees there.

I knew there was no way I would have time to go back to my car, and I would probably barely have time to make the actual start (like many others). I decided to just start whenever I was ready, and be fine knowing that the timer would start and stop when I hit the pad.

I had registered for the 5K so that is what line I was in. I met two other nice young women and we chatted about our stories. One was running with her young daughter, and the other one was running solo because her friends pooped out on her. I love the report among runners, and I always meet such nice folks!

Once I had my bib on, I ran over for a quick potty stop before the start was announced, which I had miraculously not missed. While in line, the guy next to me mentioned..."So you're running the 10K today? Cool." "Oh, no, no, no...I'm running the 5K..." I said as I looked down at my bib. At that moment I had a slight freak-out as I realized my bib said 10K! Wait a minute? Did I register for the 10K? Surely not! It must have been a mistake! I had about 2 minutes to figure out what the heck happened in my registration process before the 5K started so I gave up trying to figure it out. Well...I guess I was going to be running 6.2 miles this day!

I found my new friend who I had been chatting with and told her about the mix up right as the race began. I ended up running with her through the first 1 1/2 miles as we chatted a bit here and there.

I didn't have a lot of time to really consider my decision...run the 5K and kind of "cheat" on my 10K registration or run the 10K (risking an owie leg) and end up running twice the distance I registered for. I went back and forth until I reached the literal fork in the road and I took the 10K path. I figured my bib said 10K, I had better just go for the 10K. After all, with my run/walk strategy I could do it and be fine. I walk all over SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo and am never sore. And perhaps I let the excitement of race day motivate my decision a bit...

The course itself was very nice! I enjoyed running around Fiesta Island. Each turn was a new perspective of Mission Bay and San Diego. I may not have mentioned it much on this blog but I LOVE our new city. San Diego is an amazing place to live (and run). The downfall I saw on the course affected half marathoners. In order to reach the full 13.1 miles, there was a lot of double-backing and re-looping and keeping up with that could get frustrating, especially when you are desperately tired. But the day was great. It was cool with a light cloud cover and light breeze. Perfect running weather.

I haven't seen 4 miles in a long time!

I kept a pretty steady pace of jogging and walking but I did a lot more jogging than I have at home, that's for sure...and it felt good through the entire race. While I tried not to let the energy of the run push me, it really did. Even though it wasn't about beating anyone, and not even about beating myself, I was just so happy to be out on a fun run course! I ran hardest at the end. I was going at about a 10-to-11-minute/mile pace when I was jogging which was better than I had thought I could do! I just kept feeling it out and paid a lot of attention to how my leg felt. While I didn't have the choice to stop if it started to hurt, I could walk more if needed. It turns out it wasn't needed! It felt like it was working hard, but didn't hurt really. My doc gave me a tendon of steel!

When I arrived at the finish chute I was the only one coming so the announcer rallied support "Give her a hand folks! Finishing a 10K today...great job!" I was so thrilled that I had really ran a 10K. Even after surgery and being out of the running game for 6 months, it didn't feel bad, and I didn't feel crazy out of shape. It goes to show you that your body doesn't lose everything if you are down, and that the run/walk strategy lets you go farther without killing your body.

Can't forget the bling! This race was really cool and everyone earned medals whether you ran the 5K, 10K, or Half Marathon.

There were a few booths set up but I didn't bring any money and wasn't super interested in hanging out too long. I did score a couple of Luna Bars and bottles of Tea of a Kind drinks. The reps were giving out whole cases to anyone who asked for them!

Once I had walked to my car, I stopped for a second to take a picture of my socks. The same ones that have sat in the back of my dresser since the fateful day of November 10, 2013 when I tore my Achilles.

My Facebook post read: "The last time I wore these socks was 6 months ago, when I tore my AchillesTendon. Today, I finished a 10K in them! #4monthspostop"

t-shirt and bib...very girly

Proof!

After I got home, I got an e-mail confirmation with my race time which was really cool. I never had to register for it or anything, it just came automatically with my race registration and participation. Pretty cool!

I was shocked when I saw my stats:

I did register for the 5K! So according to the results I ran probably the slowest 5K in recorded history-LOL!! 

Here is my Nike + app result:

Running is a very cool way to explore Fiesta Island in Mission Bay

I guess that's it folks! This lady is back in the game, if only somewhat by accident. I don't plan on repeated 10Ks and even on my own I am still going to stick with 2-3 miles run/walk for now until my calf/tendon are stronger. But now I know that if I register for a race, I will survive it! :)