capitol hill clasic 10K | race recap

I want to be one of those people who exclaim after a race how easy it was, comparatively, to the training for it, and how the miles flew by! Alas, I am not one of those people. The Capitol Hill Classic, my first ever race and first time running a 10k, was, I'll just say it, hard. It was hard!

I expected adrenaline to be the driving force, to have it carry me through much of the race. That was not the case. After the first 5 minutes or so, the adrenaline wore off, and it felt like any other run. Except on this run, I found it really difficult to distract myself and get out of my run and into my head. I made it a goal to run straight through to each of the water stops, placed at two mile intervals, and then to walk through those.

Miles 1-2 
I felt tired by the time I reached mile 1. I know myself and body enough to know that I wasn't tired at all, but I was focusing on my running instead of anything else. I kept hearing the runners around me, the crowds (that was nice, though!), and I struggled to find my groove. Mile 2 was better as I started to calm down and get into my zone.

Miles 3-4
Mile 3 was my best mile of the race. I got completely lost in my music and thoughts, and I'm pretty sure I fist-pumped my way around one bend in the road. Right around mile 4, it started to rain. It felt humid all morning, and the rain was a wonderful reprieve. Mile 4 was also my slowest and worst. I hit a wall, and I had to walk at two different points for short intervals. Mile 4 also had a decent-sized hill. I did some of my best running of the race on the hill but petered out once things flattened out.

Miles 5-6
The second I passed the 5 Mile marker, I felt a euphoria unlike anything I've ever experienced. Running highs are incredible, and I've experienced them occasionally in training runs, but this... oh wow. Oh wow! I knew when I saw that marker that I was going to finish, that I could do it, that I had already done most of it. I couldn't stop smiling. I knew that Zander, Matt, and Matt's boyfriend Ryan would be cheering me on at 5.5 miles. I used that as incentive and picked up my pace.

At the 6 mile marker, I thought I was done. I got emotional.... and then remembered 6.2. I still had a little ways to go. That last .2 sounded like the longest distance when I realized it. But when I rounded the corner and saw the finish line, I mustered up every bit of energy I had left in me, and I sprinted.

The finish 
I got emotional as I crossed the finish line. I bent over panting, and I had a silly stupid smile plastered on my face. I checked my RunKeeper app when I could breathe again. It was way off, saying I had run 6.6 miles at an 11:00 minute/mile pace. I met up with my friend Courtney and congratulated her for her PR.

Results 
I ran at an 11:28 minute/mile pace, which is close to what I anticipated. I don't know how I feel about it? But I guess I am a little disappointed. I'm glad I have a race under my belt, and I ran 85% of it. I didn't sleep well (at all, eek) the night before, and I've had a cold all week that I felt coming on Saturday evening before the race. I'm not sure how much, if at all, those factors affected my run, but I'm excited to see how I'll do in another one. Another one!

Next up 
I'm planning to the run the Biggest Loser 10K in July and tentatively the Annapolis 10-miler in August. After this race, I truly wonder if I'm insane for doing it again.

And now... 
I was limping the day after the race. I erred by not icing after the race (such a dumb mistake), and my calves were so tight it was painful to walk. On top of tight calves, the pain in my right inner leg (posterior shin splints?) returned with a vengeance, and I'm still sore today. I need to see a doctor or talk to someone to figure this out before I start training again.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me for this race and offered such great advice. A great, huge, big thank you to the guys in my life who were there to cheer me on. It meant so much to me!