Tuesday, August 18, 2009

McConnell's Endurance Events Race Recap

Good Morning! I am trucking along in this SUPER busy week; I can't wait for it to be over so I can breathe, relax, and resume reading up on all of your blogs!

Before I get into the race recap, thank you so much for the well wishes on my knee. I tend to be extremely paranoid, borderline neurotic, armageddon is coming tomorrow! about injuries, so reading your words was very encouraging. I went to the Dr. this morning, and the winner is Ron, who correctly guessed my diagnosis! You are a PT extroadinaire! (ok I know, this isn't a contest, lol).

I don't have a stress fracture!

(Insert GIGANTOR sigh of relief here. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

But I do have Bursa tendonitis. So that means No Running This Week. Maybe next week too. Yikes! Maui Half Marathon is only 4.5 weeks away! But I'd rather rest it now and be safe and well for Maui, instead of overtrained and injured. This little running hiatus is gonna be tough, but better now than later.
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Ok on to the race.
The race was a part of a series of events; there was a 5K run, a 5K walk, a biathlon, a 10K, a mile swim, and a kid's mile run. I did the 10K, and James did the Biathlon, which was the 10K followed by a mile swim.

The event was a rather small, very local affair, and it seemed like everyone knew each other there. I loved the small, non-intimidating atmosphere. And best of all, WE WERE NOT LATE!!!! That made me a very happy camper, and saved me from having to chew James' head off.

The run started at 9:30. The weather was very overcast and chilly. It was so foggy that it was practically raining. Whatever. Better to have a cool race than a hot one. James and I got there 45 minutes early, and ran a mile to warm up, and stretched. The gun went off, and we made a run for it; a straight and flat out and back.

Ahhh the adrenaline rush of a race! It's something that can never be recreated. The thunder of footsteps, the heavy breathing all around, the pounding heart, and the anticipation of the road ahead. I looked at Garmy, and it said 6:54. Woah Nelly slow down. For the first mile, I ran right behind a man who was running a straight 7 min mile. Who knew I could run that fast? I kind of surprised myself. However, that was too fast for me to maintain, so I then ran behind a lady who was running 7:30 miles. I stuck with her till mile 2. Even that was a little too fast for me to sustain. But I couldn't believe I had run two whole miles in less than 8 minutes each!

This was the first race with Garmy, and I absolutely CANNOT imagine how I used to race without this beauty. I kept checking my pace to make sure I stayed below a 8:20 pace. Unlike the Semana Nautica race, I kept getting passed, but I tried not to let it bother me. At around mile 2.5, I saw a black kitty, and that totally lifted my mood. In Japan, black cats are auspicious, and plus, I love cats. The road was flat and straight, which helped tremendously in keeping a steady pace. Pretty soon, I saw the super fast runners coming back from the turn around point. Man, they were hauling some maJAH a$$! I made sure to cheer the first 5 or so runners on. It was so inspiring to watch their form. I want to run like that!

At mile 3.1, I unwittinly blurted out "$uck yeah!". I was so embarrassed that's what came out of my mouth, and quickly followed by "oops, excuse my language!" haha. I WAS happy to turn around though. I was running faster than I ever have!

I tried hard for the next half to maintain my pace. I could not do negative splits, but I was extremely satisfied with my performance. I really wasn't thinking much at all, other than, 2.2 more miles to go. 2.15 more miles to go. 2.1 more miles to go. I was literally counting down every hundreths of a mile till the finish.

Around mile 5.6, I looked at my watch, and realized if I really pushed it, I could reach my goal time. I took a deep breath and just all out went for it for the last half mile. I got kind of queasy, but I was able to finish all 6.28 miles (woah, longer than a 10k!) at

49 minutes and 9 seconds!
7:55 average pace

My goal was to shave even 10 seconds off my previous time, but I had a secret desire to beat 50 minutes. And I did it! woo! A new PR! And good enough for a third place AG! (A secret goal is a "hopeful" goal that I won't be sad if I don't accomplish, but think it would be rad if I could. Does anyone else ever have secret goals?)

And congrats to James who rocked his first 10k at 44:44! He then moved onto the swim portion of the biathlon (this race is kind of unique in that it is a run THEN swim). There were only about 10-15 biathletes, so it was a very low key, very mellow race. James even swam it in his surfing wetsuit! We used a very helpful blog tip and sprayed the wet suit with Pam to make it easier to get into. He said it was very helpful!

First biathlon successfully finished

For getting third, I got to make and decorate my own cool visor, AND I got a coupon for free ice cream! LOL, at an event where there is free ice cream, the winner gets even MORE free ice cream!
For some reason, my eyes aren't open in any of my race photos. Apparently, I run with my eyes closed. How on earth is this possible?
Running strong
I really like this candid shot from the starting line. We both look nervous.
Race photos from SantaBarbaraPix.com
We both had A LOT of fun at this event, and we made sure to stuff our faces with free ice cream. Ok ok I lie. I made sure I stuffed myself with ice cream. (BTW, lots of COLD dairy right after a hard race = NOT a good idea) oh well lesson learned, haha.
This race also raised my confidence for the half marathon next month. I don't know how my knee issue is going to affect my racing/training, but I feel pretty good about it. I just need to remind myself to REST MY KNEE, and to NOT OVERTRAIN it.
I WILL be able to do this!

Happy Tuesday!


16 comments:

  1. I totally have "secret" goals. I just completed my first triathlon and had several "secret" goals. You have a great blog here!

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  2. ROCK ON GIRL! CONGRATS! You call me speedy? That is awesome! My best 10k is 51 min. You just blew my doors off! So very, very excited for you!!!!! Congrats to James too! YAY!!!

    Oh and I totally ahve "secret" goals, I'm pretty sure everyone does...

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  3. Hey speedster! Well done. Way to PR and run strong. Congrats to James too. Take care of your knee.

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  4. Great job on your 10K and I'm glad to hear there was good ( or better than you thought) news on your knee!!

    I haven't done a 10K yet and my long runs are up to 5.7 miles (I'm a new runner), but you are definately an inspiration for what is to come. I am still pretty slow but I am trying for a new PR this weekend in the 4th race of a 4 race 5K summer series! I have been following your blog for a few weeks now!!

    I was tagged by Mel and I am going to tag you, but if you aren't interested, no problem, it's just for fun and to get to know our fellow running bloggers!!!

    The tag reads: "with as much creativity as you can muster, show your heart in: a picture, poem, a song (or piece of music), a phrase (or quote), an item of clothing, a place, and (just for fun) a Disney princess

    Several bloogers have done this in the past week or so and I just did mine last night....check it out busyrunningmama.blogspot.com

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  5. WOOOO HOOOO! Girl that is AWESOME! (The race not the knee part, that part sucks). But way to go. You were flying. So happy to see this great race report. Ice and rest that knee and Hawaii won't know what's comin'.

    SUCK YEAH BABY!

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  6. GREAT RACE GIRL!!!!!! You were speed racer! Hot damn! I totally love that you yelled "*uck yea!" I would have done the same thing too! I actually have, when rocking out to eminem. He brings out my swearing ;) I'm so glad you guys had fun and congrats to James for kicking butt too!!

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  7. CONGRATS on the new PR!! thats a kickass 10K time, way to go!! :) Very cool new visor too, haha.

    (also - I can't imagine eggs before a race! ha, glad it worked out when you skipped them ;) )

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  8. Way to go girl! Congrats on your race; that's awesome! Sorry to hear about the knee though.... :(

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  9. You look so pretty in that candid photo, it's an amazing shot!

    And congrats on a huge PR!!

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  10. Julia that is an awesome time and a great PR! I'm so excited for you! I have many many secret goals, but I'm always afraid to tell them because then they won't happen (superstitious much?) Best of luck with your knee, and I'm really glad to hear it's not a stress fracture.

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  11. Julia, that is AWEOMSE!!! You are speedy girl!
    Congrats to both you and James.
    LOL about the free ice cream at a free ice cream event. Rest your knees!

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  12. Good job on the 10K!! That was a fun race report to read, too :) And free ice cream!?!? The races around here need to get on the ball with that one!!!

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  13. NICE RACE! Congrats on the PR! Fan-freaking-tastic! Congrats to James, too. Sounds like a great event!

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  14. Great news on the knee and nice work on the new PR!!

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  15. Well i guess its good to take a break now rather than later. I understand what you are going through - injuries are not fun but hopefully since you caught it early you will be good to go for the HM. Great job on the race!!

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