The Mini 10K in a Mini Skirt

Two weekends ago, over 10,000 women gathered in Central Park, NYC to run the Mastercard Mini 10K. Even though I live on the east coast and have been running for over 20 years, I had never heard of this historic event. It began in 1972 as a women's-only race, named after the mini skirt, a symbol of women's liberation. 

I learned about the race after hearing that several professional runners would be competing, and on the Sunday of that weekend, I was invited to speak on a panel discussion in NYC alongside one of the professional women. I am nowhere near her level, but since I was already planning to be there for the event, I decided to run the same Saturday race. 

Ultimately, that athlete ended up not running the 10K after all, so the panel event never happened. I still had my race entry, and decided to make the trip to NYC and experience it.

Greg and I took the train to NYC on Friday, checked into our hotel, and then went to pick up my bib number. At number pickup, they placed a big "C" sticker on my bib, indicating that I was in corral C. I had looked up the previous year's results online, and I knew it would be very likely that I would finish among the top 500 runners. I assumed that corral "A" would be my natural placement, or "B" at the very least, but they told me that "C" was the furthest forward I could be because I hadn't run another NYRR race that would qualify me. I told them that I ran a 41:38 10K last December and could share that result with them, but they said it had to be a NYRR race.

I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Because the weather would be warm, I saw it as an opportunity to go out slow and then pass runners along the way. I probably could have advocated a little bit harder, but I didn't really care that much. I had a very "chill" attitude towards this race. I wanted to run well and run my best, but my primary objective was to experience it.

The bib pickup was near my favorite piano store in NYC where they have a huge selection of Bosendorfer, Fazioli and Bechstein pianos. These are the best pianos in the entire word (Fazioli is my favorite) and it was a pleasure to play them. 

Greg and I ate dinner at a fancy restaurant the night before the race. Probably too fancy because I wanted something bland, and that's not what you order at these types of places. I focused on staying hydrated and I drank around 75 ounces of water + electrolytes that day. 

We got back to our hotel, watched Jeopardy (a treat for us, since we don't have cable) and then went to sleep. I slept relatively well. I don't actually remember because it's now been over two weeks since the race, but we'll say I slept decently. 

Before the Race
For breakfast I had a banana and UCAN energy powder. I got dressed, pinned on my bib, and was ready to make my way to the race start. Back in the 2010's I wore running skirts for most of my races, but when we moved houses I had gotten rid of them all. I definitely wanted to wear a skirt for this race because it was the "mini" 10K, named after the mini skirt. I had found a cute outfit from Alo that was pink and frilly and perfect for a women's race. I opted for my New Balance SC Pacer shoes - perfect for the 10K distance.

We took a cab to about 72nd street where they had closed off Central Park west, and then started walking to the race start, which was located at 90th street. 

It was already 76 degrees at 7:15. It was supposed to get up to 80 by the time I would be finishing! On my personal weather scale, I give this a 1 out of 10. I would not be able to run anywhere close to my 41:38 from December, despite being in almost as good of shape.

Once we got to around 80th street, I said goodbye to Greg so he could get to his first spectating location. I did a very easy jog to the start line and then up and down one of the side streets once I reached 90th. I also used one of the porta potties. 

My grandparents lived on Central Park West, and I found myself right in front of their building. I waved to the security guard and he let me inside. They passed away over 20 years ago, but it brought back memories to see the lobby of the building. I remembered being a child and visiting that building often. As  a child, I don't think I could have imagined returning to that building as a 47-year-old runner lining up for a 10K race in the park. I was wearing a necklace with my grandmother's diamonds and my wedding ring also has her diamonds, so it was cool for them to be back in their place of origin. 

I took a caffeinated gel, finished drinking my water, and made my way into corral C. Throughout the entire morning I was recognized by many runners from social media, and it was cool to meet so many people in person. I loved the all-women vibe, and everyone was super energized and chatting with each other. 

Once we started walking towards the start line, I tried to get up a little closer to the front, but it wasn't really possible with so many people. There were probably 2,000 runners ahead of me. 

Mile 1

Miles 1-2
Mile 1 was all about passing people and trying to run my ideal pace. It was a net downhill so I didn't want to waste it by going out too easy. The first mile was not in Central Park- it was on the city street of Central Park West. Greg would be looking for me shortly before we entered the park at mile marker 1. 

I did a ton of weaving, but it was hard to make my way through the crowd. The course was not very wide and there were thousands of runners. I tried to stay to the left so I could see Greg and he could see me, but I ended up running wherever I could to pass people. I saw Greg on the side of the road, but he didn't quite see me and I yelled out to him and then he saw me. He wasn't able to snap any photos of me, but I'm posting a screen shot of a video he took.

Mile 2 was fully inside Central Park. It was still crowded and I was still passing runners right and left. This was another net downhill mile so I wanted to make the most of it. 

Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 2: 7:01

Miles 3-4
Because it was so hot and hilly, I didn't give myself a goal time. I figured I would run it based on effort level. My 10K pace from last December was around 6:40, but I knew I would spend the majority of this race in the 7:00's with the heat. Mile 3 featured "Cat Hill" which was definitely a challenge, but there was a ton of crowd support on it. 

I can't say enough about how amazing the vibe was with this being a women's race. I like running with men too, but at my pace, I typically find myself surrounded by men. I saw Greg during the 3rd mile and he saw me and took photos. The course was finally starting to open up which made passing people easier. 

Mile 3: 7:20
Mile 4: 7:09

Miles 5-Finish
I knew that mile 5 would be the most challenging from an elevation perspective. I was mentally prepared for it and told myself to just focus on getting up the big hill and then it would be mostly downhill afterwards. I did not look at my watch at all during this mile, I just focused on pushing hard and getting up the big hill. My watch finally beeped and my split was 7:41. OUCH - but not surprising given how hot it was and how big the hill was. 

After that, I don't remember much. I remember almost nothing about mile 6 except for the fact that I don't remember it. 

This has never, ever happened to me in 20+ years of racing: I totally zoned out, and did not know that I had made it to mile marker 6. I didn't see a mile marker, I did not hear or feel my Garmin beep. I looked around for Greg but never saw him. I had stopped looking at my watch entirely and had no concept of how far away the finish line was. 

Suddenly, I came upon a timing mat which I assumed was mile marker 6, but that was actually the finish line. There was no finish line arch, which I had expected in a race of this size, so I just cruised through it with no finish line kick. If I had known that I was approaching the finish line, I could have gunned it a little more, but instead I was totally just zoned out and I had no idea that the finish line was coming. 

Mile 5: 7:41
Mile 6: 7:21
Last 0.29: 6:59 pace

My official time was 45:46, which is my slowest 10K in over 10 years! The last time I ran a slower 10K was December 2013. I do not see this as a reflection on my fitness, but rather the impact of the heat and the hills.

I was thrilled to place 9 out of 841 in my age group at a competitive NYC race. That's really the metric that matters most to me, not my actual time. I consider this a huge success.  I also placed 235 out of 10,075 women. Given that I was in corral C, this means I passed over 2,500 runners along the way. I plan to run this race again next year so I can start in corral A and hope that it stays below 75 degrees. 

After the Race
I enjoyed the post race experience because multiple women recognized me from social media, asked to take photos with me, etc. Seems like everyone had a similar experience - ran much slower than their typical 10K because of the heat. 

My plan was to meet up with Greg at the first possible location after the finish line chute, but I did not see him. Turns out he was waiting for me to run past him. He never saw me during the last mile and I never saw him. I used a volunteer's phone to call him and we were able to meet up about ten minutes later. 

I told him all about the race as we made our way out of the park. He recorded a video of me for my Instagram story. We briefly stopped on the way out to look up a place to have a post-race breakfast. At this point, I had finished about 25 minutes prior. As he was looking on his phone, I felt like I really needed to sit down, so I did. And then I started to feel strange. I felt weak, like I couldn't get up. I told Greg I just needed to sit for awhile. I sipped water and Gatorade. He asked me if I wanted to go to the medical tent and I refused.

I sat there for a few more minutes and then realized how absolutely horrible and weak I felt, and that I might not be able to get up off of the ground on my own. I knew at that point that I had no other option than to be taken to the medical tent. Greg approached a volunteer and they called the medical people who arrived with a wheelchair. I was slurring my speech, I felt like I was totally knocked out. My whole body was limp.

Once inside the medical tent, they surrounded my body with ice packs. Lots and lots of ice packs. After about 5 minutes, I very suddenly snapped out of it. It was like an instant awakening. All of a sudden I was able to talk normally and I felt normal. It was very, very weird how suddenly I went from my haze to feeling normal. 

I was in the medical tent for about 20 minutes and I finally was able to leave. Greg and I walked towards a bagel place, ate, and then headed back to the hotel. It all made sense why I didn't remember the last mile of the race. I don't remember ever reaching mile 6. I think I was starting to suffer from heat exhaustion but it didn't fully kick in until 25 minutes later. 

I've been saying for years that I am far more heat sensitive than the average runner and this again confirms it. 

I showered, relaxed, and then we headed out for the train station. We ended up walking there (it was about 1.5 miles) and when we were about half a mile from Penn Station, I told Greg I needed to sit down inside. I started feeling really awful again, so I got a fountain soda Coke at a pizza place and drank it with more water. The remaining half mile walk to Penn Station felt like an eternity. I felt super exhausted, like at any minute I might pass out. 

We finally arrived and it was like heaven to sit down. Greg got me another Gatorade and I still felt very weird. We had to wait almost an hour for our train, but as long as I could be sitting down in air conditioning, I was fine. I actually was sitting on the ground because the actual seating area was completely full. 

Then, on the way home, a barge hit the bridge and we were told our train would be delayed for a minimum of 2-3 hours. Greg and I decided we would take an Uber from Wilmington, DE back to DC, but as we were getting off the train, they announced that they fixed the bridge and we could proceed. Thank goodness. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
That was a very eventful weekend. The race itself was a total blast and I loved the five miles of it that I remember. I'm extremely proud of how well I placed in my age group and in the overall field. I also enjoyed wearing my pink skirt and meeting so many people who recognized me from social media. 

I don't really have any other final thoughts aside from my heat sensitivity being confirmed for the hundredth time, and being thankful for the opportunity to run such an iconic race.

Fall Classic 10K Race Report

After my clever title for yesterday's post, I am fresh out of creativity today! As the title states, I ran the Potomac River Running Fall Classic 10K this morning. It was the inaugural running of the race as the "Fall Classic" although that course is used multiple times throughout the year as other races. I had never run this course before, although I had run a 5K that overlapped with some of the course.

Let's back up. Way back in the spring, when I was planning out my fall race schedule, I had the Boo! Run for Life 10K on tap for today. There are lots of things I love about the Boo! 10K. Its a pancake flat course with no turns, so it always yields 6.21 miles exactly. I set a PR there in 2014 and 2015. I've set other PRs on that course as the "Veteran's Day 10k" too, back in 2009 and 2011. And also the "Jingle All the way 10K". So yeah, it's fast.

Even though I was registered for the Boo! race, I decided earlier this week to switch to the Fall Classic. Here's why:

• Boo! is in Washington DC, which tends to be 4-5 degrees warmer than the suburbs in the mornings. The Fall Classic is about 25 miles west of the city, which tends to be slightly cooler. This wouldn't make a difference if it were a cool morning, but 64 vs. 60 can make a real difference. 
• The Fall Classic in Ashburn has gently rolling hills, which can be fast, and is better preparation for my marathon, CIM.
• The Fall Classic is part of a race series, which would earn me points in the series.
• The Fall Classic has better prizes: gift cards to Potomac River Running. I was the 2nd place female finisher at Boo! back in 2015 and I didn't win anything other than a certificate.
• The Fall Classic would be logistically easier, as it's closer to my house and you can park near the start/finish.

All of this being said, I figured that my time would be slower at the Fall Classic due to the curvy nature of the course and the Garmin likely reading more than 6.21. But, since didn't think I would PR in warm, humid weather, I figured that time didn't matter as much as the other things. 

Anyway, my race was 62 degrees with about 85% humidity. Dew point 57. I think it only ended up being like 2 degrees warmer in the city, but whatever, I had made my choice. This race wouldn't be about my finish time but about effort and execution. I was kind of sad about this because I do believe myself to be in shape for a PR. And I don't often run 10Ks. My PR is from February 2017, so I feel like it has overstayed its welcome. 

I did not, however, rule out the possibility of a PR, I was just being realistic. I was still going to run as hard as possible. But that looks a lot different in 62 degrees vs. 22 degrees. 

Before the Race

As I said earlier, this race is pretty easy in terms of logistics. It was a 20-minute drive, followed by packet pickup at the running store. Greg wasn't running the race but he did run the warm up with me. I warmed up for about 1.5 miles on what I thought was the end of the course. The course is a loop, and I had studied the course map beforehand. As I warmed up, I was mentally preparing myself for this route to be the finish. As I warmed up, I drank my Generation UCAN.

I then went back to the car and changed shoes into my Nike Vaporfly Next%. Followed by going to the porta potty, and then running another half mile in the Vaporfly to get a feel for them. Previously I had written about the Nike Vaporfly 4%. I didn't love this shoe because the fit was sloppy. So I tried on the new "Next %" at the running store, and they fit so much better. Then, I tried on the original Vaporfly to compare. At that point, I realized that I could slide the original Vaporfly off of my foot without untying them! I figured I probably shouldn't run in a shoe that was so loose it would slide right off even when tied tightly. So I bought the Next % and used them in this 10K.

Soon it was time to line up. I saw my friend Lisa at the start line and we chatted briefly before the gun went off. 

Miles 1-2

Based on the elevation profile, I wanted to run these miles at goal pace, or maybe slightly slower. There were some gently rolling hills but nothing major. One woman shot out ahead of me, but I didn't see any others so I was pretty sure I was in second place. These miles were a little windy. The

Mile 1

headwind was annoying, but it also had a cooling affect so I didn't mind it too much. I focused on staying relaxed and settling in.

When I came to mile marker 1, I had already run 1.05 miles according to my Garmin, so I hoped that the marker was simply misplaced. But then when I hit the second mile marker, my Garmin was still ahead on distance, so I was mentally prepared for my Garmin to yield more than 6.2 miles. But I knew this going into the race based on Strava data and the curvy nature of the course. 

Mile 1: 6:49

Mile 2: 6:47

Miles 3-4

I was content with how I handled the first two miles. Ideally they would have been closer to 6:45, but I still had four miles to go, and anything could happen. Shortly after I hit mile marker two, there was a water station. I poured an entire cup over my head in an effort to cool down. I wasn't "hot" per se but the air was thick and sticky. 

I knew that these miles would both be net uphill, so I needed to stay strong. I maintained my placement; nobody passed me and I didn't pass anyone. I had no idea how far behind me the third female was. 

Mile 3: 6:56

Mile 4: 6:52

Miles 5-Finish

I did not get discouraged by how slow miles 3-4 were, as they were uphill. However, I was envisioning them being closer to 6:50. The good news was that the final two miles would be net downhill.

But first, we turned into a neighborhood, ran about 0.05 miles into it, did a hairpin turn, and came back out. I guess they needed to add 0.1 mile somewhere, and this is where they did it? It was super annoying but it wasn't a surprise as I had studied the course map. At that point I was kind of wishing I had run the race in the city, but then I wouldn't get my nice downhill finish!

Heading toward the finish line

I was confused at the very end because we didn't finish like the course map had indicated. We didn't turn where I expected to turn so that threw me off a little. But ultimately that meant fewer turns overall, so I think it was for the best.

My original plan was to run these miles hard and go sub 6:40. I did run them hard, but sub 6:40 wasn't happening. I was at a point where I was struggling to maintain my effort.

Mile 5: 6:49

Mile 6: 6:44

Laso 0.29: 6:38 pace

Official time: 42:52, good for second place female. First place ran 40:02, so there was no catching her.

After the Race
Before I had a chance to mentally process the race, I knew I needed to do the post-race workout prescribed by my coach. He wanted me to stop for no longer than 5 minutes, and then do a Fartlek of 3 x (3 mins, 2 mins, 1 mins) all with 90 seconds of steady running in between. Wow. Greg, who had been taking photos, went back to the car with me and I changed out of my Vaporflys and into the adidas which I had warmed up in.

I thought there would be no way I could run fast after just finishing a 10K, but I was pleasantly surprised:

3 minutes at 7:34
2 minutes at 7:03
1 minute at 6:54
3 minutes at 7:11
2 minutes at 6:58
1 minutes at 6:36

I stopped after two sets because my legs were toast. I think that was the point, as this is part of marathon training. But I have my limits! All of that yielded an extra 2.62 miles at an average pace of 7:58. The awards ceremony started about five minutes after I finished, so I was glad I stopped when I did.

Final Thoughts
I feel good about this race. It's annoying that the weather was what it was, especially since yesterday morning it was in the low 50's at 8:00. But I can't control the weather and I made the best of it.

I missed my PR by 1 minute, 1 second. But considering this course was "longer" than my PR course, the pace was about 6 seconds per mile slower. So, kind of close, which is good.

New zebra socks

Before the race I had looked at Strava data from about 5 different runners on this course. The distances ranged from 6.25-6.27. I paid very close attention to the tangents so I think I ended up with 6.29 because this course was different at the end then what the Strava runners ran. Plus, as I said, the
mile markers seemed off from the very beginning. I don't really care though, since I wasn't going to PR. My point is that my pace is closer to my PR pace than my time would suggest.

Greg wanted to look up the Boo! Run for Life 10K results and find out what the winning time was. I told him not to. If my time was faster than the winning time, I would probably be kicking myself. I made my choice to run the hillier, curvier, "longer" course, and I'm good with it.

I'm very hungry for a PR. I think I'm in excellent shape, but I don't really know since all my tune-up races have been in 60+ degrees.

I like the Vaporfly Next % much better than the original version. I don't think they made me a ton faster in this 10K than I otherwise would be, but I could see how they would really help during a 10-miler and longer. I'll probably continue to wear them in future 10Ks, but I think I have settled on my adidas Adios for the 5K distance.

Next up is the Columbus half marathon in two weeks. Please, PLEASE, let there be good weather. The half marathon PR is also dated: January 2018. I think sub-1:30 might be too ambitious but I think 1:30:xx is totally in the cards if the stars align.

Ringing In Summer

On Monday, I ran my 4th Ringing In Hope 10K. Don't be deceived by the number-- this race occurs multiple times per year, and sometimes on different courses.

I typically write a race report within hours of finishing the race so my memory is fresh and that I can have "closure" and move on with my day. In the case of this race, I knew that my report would be overshadowed by feelings of frustration and disappointment, so I waited until I could think more rationally and positively about my performance.

I ran the 5K version of this race last Memorial Day and it was so sweltering hot that I had decided I wouldn't return again. But when the forecast came out for low humidity and relatively cooler temperatures, I changed my mind and decided to go for it. I had also sworn off racing the 10K distance in warm weather (with the exception of Laywers Have Heart-- which I do every year). However, the forecast was for 54 and sunny at the start, 60 at the finish with the sun rising quickly. I thus opted for the 10K thinking that my performance would only be impacted slightly by the heat.

I didn't really have a goal in mind for this race. I ran this exact course on New Year's eve in 45:57 and figured I was probably in similar shape now. I decided not to look at my Garmin and I was just going to run by feel, since that has worked for me in shorter races in the past. I had no idea if the weather would affect me or how much, so I figured that trying to run a certain pace wouldn't be smart-- I would just feel the race.

Before the Race
In the days before the race, I made sure to hydrate well. I drank plenty of water as well as coconut water to make sure I had enough electrolytes. When I ran this 10K back in 2011, I suffered from heat exhaustion and was dizzy/spacey for awhile after the race was over. I theorized that I was drinking enough water, but perhaps not getting enough electrolytes so I since made that a priority.

I dressed in a sports bra, shorts, visor and sunglasses. I knew the sun would be strong, so I wanted to keep it off of my face. When Greg and I arrived to the race, it was actually chilly in the shade, but warm in the sun.  I think if this race had started at 7:00 as opposed to 8:10, things would have been a lot different for me. I wasn't obsessing about the weather, as I used to do, however. I had made a conscious decision to run the 10K instead of the 5K because I thought the weather wouldn't be warm enough to slow me down significantly. I was mentally prepared, physically rested, hydrated and ready to go.

My warmup was just under two miles, and I was feeling great. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Liz, who I had seen just two weeks prior at the Angel Kisses 5K. Liz was running the 5K at this event, too and she told me that they were starting the 5K at 8:00 and the 10K at 8:10. This wasn't advertised anywhere on the website or in information emails, but I figured it wouldn't change things too much and might even be better because I would know who was in my race versus the 5K. I cheered for Liz as she crossed the start line and then chatted with Greg as we waited for my race to start. Greg, who is still recovering from a foot injury, was prepared to take photos of me and hand me a bottle of water at the halfway point.

Mile 1: 7:23 
This race features a long, gradual uphill during the first mile. I always tell myself not to go out too fast on it and to save up for later in the race. I ran up the hill at what felt like a conservative effort for a 10K, and then sped up when it came time for the downhill. I noticed that there weren't very many women ahead of me in the first mile. Maybe 4-5. This worried me in thinking that I had gone out too fast, but everything felt good.

Miles 2-3: 7:41, 7:58
At the end of the first mile and for the entire 2nd and 3rd miles, I was dodging 5K runners. I hadn't thought about this when I learned of the different start times. Typically everyone starts at the same time so I am not passing slower 5K runners/walkers on the first loop. Potentially a few 5K walkers on the second loop, but

The end of mile 3, 5K runners in background

they are all spread out by that point. Instead, I spent my entire 2nd and 3rd miles passing people, yelling "passing" as I ran through very narrow areas of runners. No doubt I was expending extra mental and physical energy here, and it was extremely annoying. There were large families with kids all over the course and nobody was telling the 5K runners to keep to one side or the other. There were several occasions where I just had to plow my way through and yell "sorry" as I brushed against people. It was crowded and I had no other choice. Other 10K runners were doing the same.

The last half of the third mile is a long, gradual uphill. Weaving through people at this point was draining me and at the same time I started to feel really winded and tired out by the heat and sun beating down on me. I had been closely following this one runner since the start of the race, and I watched as she made her way up the hill, keeping my eye on her for motivation and reminding myself of the pace I wanted to be running. When everyone around you is going up a hill at a pace that's 3-4 minutes per mile slower than you, it's hard to stay motivated to run your fastest. Looking at my 7:58 split after the race confirmed that this mile really took its toll on me. For reference, my half marathon pace from Disney last January (which was 60, humid, but no sun) was around 7:50. My Love Rox half marathon pace was even faster in cooler weather.

Finally, I saw Greg at the top of the hill, who handed me a water bottle. I took a few gulps and poured the rest over my head. It felt awesome.

Miles 4-6: 7:53, 7:48, 8:10
It wasn't long before I felt hot again and I was confronted with the same hill from the first loop. Instead of trying to be conservative, I was just trying to survive my way up it, trying to not fall too far behind that woman in the orange shirt who I had in my sight in the first mile. I felt like I was bonking and I was doing my best just to hang on. I was wondering if everyone in the race was feeling this awful but when two women passed me (one during the 4th mile and one during the 5th mile) it didn't seem like they were struggling.

My motivation for the last two miles was just to keep my placing and try to win an Age Group award. I actually caught up to the woman in the orange shirt during the 5th mile and we ran next to each other, but then she got ahead again and I simply couldn't keep up. She looked like she was in my age group, but also sort of looked like a newbie, and I thought that on any other day I could probably easily beat her.

I took some water from a water station and poured it over myself. It felt good, but I was still feeling so exhausted and worn down by the heat. Finally, it was time for that last long uphill. I knew the race would be over soon and I knew I just had to get up the hill and I would be almost done. That other woman was about 10 seconds ahead of me. The woman who passed me in mile 5 was about 20 seconds ahead of me. Liz was cheering for me at the top of the hill and it motivated me to keep giving 100%.

Greg yelled "you're in 7th place" as I was approaching the finish line. I gave it all I had, but I couldn't close the gap between myself and either of the women ahead of me.

After The Race
I felt miserable. I was so exhausted physically and happy that the race was over. Liz and Greg found me and

Liz and me post race

got me a water. I asked Liz how she did and she said she won the 5K. First place! I was so happy for her. I figured I probably won something too, just because Greg said I was 7th overall- not because I considered my time to be competitive.

Liz got her award for winning the 5K and we waited for the 10K results to be posted. I saw that I got 2nd place in my age group with a time of 48:29. The woman ahead of me finished in 48:19- exactly 10 seconds, just as I thought. She took first in the age group.


About 5-10 minutes after I finished, I started seeing black spots and getting dizzy. This happened to me after the Nike Women's half marathon, which was also sunny and warm at the end. This continued off and on for a little bit but eventually went away after spending some time seated in the shade.

I ended up winning a $25 gift certificate to a local running store, which almost covers my race entry. I had mixed emotions about the whole thing. I would have been much happier with second place if the first place winner had been farther ahead of me. But the fact that I was tailing her the entire time and she looked like somewhat of a newbie annoyed me. I was frustrated that the heat sucked so much energy out of me that I wasn't able to trim off 10 seconds from my time.

My average pace was 7:48. By way of comparison, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April at a pace of 7:37, and that race was windy.

Takeaways
Unfortunately, it took me awhile to be able to focus on the positives from this race. In the hours after the race I felt frustrated and disappointed. Even though I knew I ran the best race I had in me and that I prepared well, it was disheartening to learn how much slower I am in 60 degree, sunny weather. It's not that hot. This kind of weather is perhaps the toughest for me to deal with mentally. If it were 80 degrees, then everyone would have been affected. If it were really windy, then everyone would have been affected. I have others around me to "validate" that the race was tough due to weather. But in this 60-degree sunny weather, it seems like I am the only one affected to such an extent.

I was also disappointed that I couldn't just shake it off and move past it quickly. This is something I've been getting really good at lately-- focusing on the positive and not letting a poor performance get me down. This race was different and it made me realize I need to keep working on staying positive and process-focused.

• I gave 100% effort and there is no way I could have pushed harder.
• Based on my splits, I probably went out too fast. This wouldn't have been too fast for cooler weather- but the first mile was obviously cooler than the last few
• I was the 7th overall female (out of 167) and 2nd in my age group of 30-39. 
• The best way to acclimate to warm weather is to put out a hard effort in warm weather. Hopefully my next hot race this summer will be easier.
• I was good about hydrating in the days before the race and the morning of
• I was happy for my friend and teammate, Liz, to win the 5K race
• I felt really supported by Greg
• Next year, it's back to the 5K!

Lawyers Have Heart 10K - Steady As It Goes

This morning I ran my 8th consecutive Lawyers Have Heart 10K.

This race holds a special place in my heart because it was the first large race I ever ran, and it encouraged me to get into racing instead of just treadmill running. That said, this race is always so tough. Every year it's extremely hot and humid and it's usually too early in the summer for me to be properly acclimated.

This year, the weather was rather pleasant, with low humidity and temperatures in the low 70's. Even though this is amazingly good weather for this race, it's still hot and sunny, which I have to keep reminding myself when thinking about my time.

I organized a Capital Area Runners team, which only had six members on it. However, there were at least 10 people from our group running. I think most of them had signed up before I created the team or were running with their law firms' teams. I ended up being the only female, which mean my time would count as being in the top four of the team. As a co-ed team, they have to score at least one female.

Pre-Race
After seven years of doing this race, I know the drill pretty well. Get there an hour early so that there is time to park, walk to packet pickup and line up early for the porta potties. Go back to the car, put on bib, put shirt in car. I find it somewhat humorous that the race runs out of size small every single year. You would think they would learn! Every year I indicate "small" on my registration, but always end up with a medium. This year, I didn't even ask for a small. I took the medium and the volunteer informed me they were out of small. The shirt material is actually rather soft, and they make good nightshirts, so I'm actually okay with my collection of mediums.

After putting our bibs on, Greg and I warmed up for about a mile and a half.  I felt pretty good.

I didn't have a goal time in mind for this race, which worked both for me and against me. I had no idea how much the heat would affect me. Two weekends ago, I went out at a pace of 7:22 in a hot 5K, and I ran the last mile at 8:01. Clearly, I didn't adjust my starting pace enough for the heat. So I decided I would go out very conservatively and then try to maintain an even pace. It's good to not have a goal time because then you are focused more on the execution. But having no ballpark idea of the time I wanted to run also left me unmotivated to push to the extent that I was physically capable of.

Mile 1-- 7:57

My goal with this mile was to take it super easy. I always, always bonk in this race and I was determined to not let that happen. It's really crowded and I didn't want to waste energy weaving and it's also uphill. I just took it very easy.

Miles 2 & 3--  7:35, 7:38
I settled in here. I didn't look at my Garmin for awhile after mile marker one, but when I did, I was happy with a pace in the 7:30's so I told myself to just maintain the 7:30's. I fully expected that I would be in the 7:50's by the time the race was over, as usually happens in this race, so I thought that staying in the 7:30's would be a challenge.

Miles 4 & 5-- 7:35, 7:34
I was so happy to be past the turnaround and feeling strong. Usually this is where it all falls apart for me, but I felt myself getting a little faster! I was so thankful to be maintaining my pace that I didn't dare try and speed up. In hindsight, I think I could have sped up a little and I think I was just being too intimidated by past experiences. I wanted to play it safe, and I did. I started making my grunting and screaming noises in mile 5, which means I was working hard, so I didn't question the effort level. A nice woman ran next to me for about half a mile and told me to relax and focus on breathing. It's funny how I always sound like death when I put out a hard effort, even when I am perfectly fine. I've been known to let out some yelps on the track, and particularly during pool running.

Mile 6: 7:34
The sun was beating down on me here and it got a lot harder, but this mile is a net downhill, so I used it to my advantage.  The last 0.2 is under a bridge, so I don't have Garmin data to support my perceived effort, but I would say I was doing a solid 6:15 pace. I was passing people left and right and now that I was in the shade, I felt awesome. I kept thinking "wow- I have a lot in the tank here, where was this earlier in the race?"

I finished with a time of 47:18, good for 18th out of 364 in my age group.

I must have had the math wrong in my head because as I was running, I was sure that a 7:35 pace would land me somewhere in the 46's, but I guess that first mile worked against me. And yes, my math was wrong. I used to obsess over which pace would get me to which time, but I have stopped doing that (thank God). So, I was a bit let down that I was in the 47's.

Nevertheless, I was proud that I ran a consistent race. I executed my strategy perfectly. This is the first time in Lawyers Have Heart history where I ran a negative split.

Sports Psychology
One of the things I am working on with my new sports psychologist is the post-race "review". We've identified that I am very black and white in my thinking and that unless I amaze myself with my performance, then I'm extremely upset. There isn't any middle ground. So for practice, here are all of the thoughts and feelings that occurred to me once I heard that some of my friends had set PRs, and others weren't that far off:

- I'm two minutes off of my PR. Nobody else is that far off, so the heat must have just affected me more.
- But could the heat really have affected me more? No. I just wimped out. I didn't push as hard as I could.
- 47:18. Sure would have been nice to get into the 46's.
- This is the best weather this race has ever had, and I still couldn't break 47?
- Other people PRed in this heat! I was so far off of mine. Boo!!!!!!!
- It was a mistake to start off so slowly. I should have had more confidence than that.

I know these feelings and thoughts don't get me anywhere. They are counterproductive and they don't build confidence. They serve no purpose and I am being unreasonably hard on myself.  My sports psychologist recommended a much more effective approach to post race "reviews".

50% of the review: What went well?
- I had a strategy
- I executed the strategy exactly as planned
- I beat my course PR by over two minutes
- I ran negative splits and didn't blow up-- which was one of the key goals
- I was in the top 5% of my age group, and this is a competitive race
- I kept a positive mindset while running the race
- I had a really nice final kick, passing most people
- I enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy the pain of a 10K!)
- I ran the tangents
- I met my total weekly mileage goal by doing a warmup and cooldown.

30% of the review: What Worked? What didn't quite work?
- My nutrition worked
- I was well hydrated
- Focusing on my form worked
- Keeping a positive attitude during the race worked
- What didn't quite work: not having a ballpark goal
- What didn't quite work: being intimidated by my past performances in this race
- What didn't quite work: not asking myself if I could push harder during the race

20% of the review: What should I adjust for next time?
- Have a ballpark time goal, and know an approximate pace I want to run-- adjust that if necessary during the run.
- Don't let past performances affect my confidence for future ones.

Just as I have to make adjustments to my pacing and slow down if I underestimate the effect of the heat (like two weeks ago), I also have to learn to adjust my pacing to go faster if I overestimated the effect of the heat.  However, better to be safe than sorry, and I played it safe. Few things are worse in a race than a heat bonk!

And now the key is not view this is a "bad performance" and not let it feed negativity into other races. There were a lot of positive things that came out of today's race-- particularly in the area of strategy and execution. And a new course PR!  I am just a bit disappointed in my finish time and the fact that I let this race intimidate me. There are some good things to learn from here.

Finally, an important point that my sports psych makes is that once the review is over, move onto something else. Do not dwell on it all day. (Except I do get to write a blog!)

Team Results
Our Capital Area Runners team placed 3rd in the Open category:

  3. 2:49:02.1 Capital Area Runners                              (  42:15.6)
============================================================
  1    37:30.9  Christopher Carney    M 
  2    39:51.7  Jamey Burden          M 
  3    44:21.1  Greg Clor             M 
  4    47:18.4  Elizabeth Clor        F 

Lawyers Have Heart History

Date	Race	Time	Comments
June 2005	Lawyers Have Heart	53:09
June 2006	Lawyers Have Heart	53:32
June 2007	Lawyers Have Heart	50:59
June 2008	Lawyers Have Heart	55:25	Coming off of injury
June 2009	Lawyers Have Heart	51:30
June 2010	Lawyers Have Heart	49:50
June 2011	Lawyers Have Heart 5K	22:43	Race was changed to a 5K due to heat
June 2012	Lawyers Have Heart	47:18

Hot Day for a 10K

I ran the Ringing In Hope 10K this morning in Ashburn, Va.  This race was the "summer race" for Ringing In Hope, and I had done the winter version on New Year's Eve. It was a different course, but the same group organizing the event. 

Even though the humidity was low, I knew it would be a tough race for me because of the sun. With an 8:00am race start on June 25 and no shade, the strong sun was beating down on me for the entire race. In 2009, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler and it was 55 degrees but very sunny. I bonked at mile 5 and DNFed. Even though the temperature was low, the sun really seemed to affect me. 

Yesterday, I was sure to drink plenty of water. I must have gone to the bathroom 7-8 times. I drank Smart Water because it has electrolytes in it. But apparently, I should have been getting even more electrolytes before and during the race. 

Greg and I got to the race about 50 minutes before the start. We picked up our bibs and bumped into my friend Kathy. Kathy was running the 5K and I thought she'd probably win it. (She came in 2nd!-- great job Kathy!) Greg and I warmed up for 1.2 miles, and then found a shady area to stretch and drink some water. We both carried small waters during the race, too. I thought I was getting plenty of water.

At the start line, I saw Karen, the woman who I've talked about in previous blogs as being about my same pace. Although she runs several races each weekend--something I could never do. In the past three races that we've ran together, we have run near each other for awhile, but I ended up passing her and beating her by just a slight bit. Naturally, I use her to kind of gauge how I'm doing in a race. 

Miles 1-2

I tried to go out at an easy pace. I was targeting a 7:40-7:45 race pace so I wanted to go out at about that. Unfortunately, I ended up running a 7:35 first mile. It just felt really, really easy. Karen was way ahead of me, and must have gone out at a pace closer to 7:15. I made sure to back off during the second mile, which I did for 7:50. The course was rolling hills. It was advertised as flat, but we were always going up a hill or going down. Nothing too steep, but the were some very long inclines. Heat + Hills is just not a good combination. 

Miles 3-4

I pretty much knew I was headed for a bonk when I reached the halfway point. It just felt so hard. I was working harder and harder but going slower and slower. I closed in on Karen a bit, but she was still a good 20 seconds ahead of me. She was wearing a fluorescent yellow shirt, so she was easy to spot. My paces were somewhat encouraging, but I just felt awful. Mile 3: 7:45, Mile 4: 7:53.

Miles 5- Finish

Heading for the finish

At this point, I really wanted to DNF. Or stop and walk. It was just so hard to keep pushing. I allowed myself to ease up in mile 5  for an 8:20 pace or otherwise I wouldn't be able to complete mile 6. I told myself that even though this was going to be a slow time for me, I would still probably win an age group award, because there weren't too many women ahead of me. I expected that a bunch of people would be passing me in these miles, because I was bonking so hard, but only one person did, and it was a man. Mile 6 was 8:11. Still a bonk, but faster than mile 5. Granted, mile 6 had more downhill. I was getting closer and closer to Karen, but I never caught her. 

As I ran toward the finish, Kathy yelled out to me "Go Elizabeth" and the way she yelled it made me think there was a woman close behind. I think this was just my own fears, though. I had worked so hard during mile 5 and 6 to simply keep running and not stop, for the sole purpose of winning an age group award. There was no way I was going to let another woman pass me in the last 0.2. So I somehow managed to complete that last 0.2 at a pace of 7:36.  

Finish time: 49:30, average pace of 7:58.

I was really expecting to be in the 47's for this race, based on my recent hot 5K. Even though I bonked, I was glad that I pushed through and didn't stop. I put out a really hard effort, and I'm pleased with how I did given how awful I felt. Plus, it's a 20-second "hot" PR for me! 

After finishing the race, it took me a very long time to recover. I wasn't coherent and able to talk for about 5 minutes.People were asking me if I was okay and I nodded. But I was also a bit confused. I didn't feel like I was in danger of passing out, but I felt so spacey and "out of it". Greg found me and told me to drink water and find some shade. 10 minutes after finishing, I still hurt as if I was running the race. I can't really describe it. I felt like I was working so hard just to "be". I lied down on the asphalt in the shade, which helped, but I was still really spacey for awhile afterwards.

Receiving my Age Group Award

We headed toward the area where they would be giving out awards so I could claim my 2nd place age group award. I saw Kathy again, and she told me that I really didn't look good, and offered to get me some electrolyte tablets. I took her up on it. Shortly after drinking a water bottle with a tablet, I felt much better. Just in time to receive my award which was a gift certificate to a running store. I decided I would use it to buy electrolyte tablets. Kathy told me that just drinking water wasn't enough-- you need to hydrate with electrolytes for hot races. She said that she doesn't race 10Ks in the heat because it really takes a toll on her and it's more than twice as hard as a 5K.

Anyway, I was the 9th overall female (out of 123) and I always like being in the top 10. I typically find myself in the top 4-5%, however, so this top 7th % fits with me not being able to run my potential.

It seemed like I was the only runner struggling to such an extent. Other people were conversational a minute or so after finishing. Greg finished over three minutes faster than me, which is a much larger difference than we usually run for a 10K and Karen beat me. So I know I did remarkably poorly time-wise given my two "benchmark" runners. 

I was so out of it, that I didn't even notice that I was suffering from a major blister/chafing issue until I took my shoe off:

Bloody sock from my shoe chafing my middle toe

Even as I write this, I am a bit dizzy and I don't feel back to my normal self. 

My main takeaways/thoughts from this race are:

- I am glad that I stuck it out and won 2nd place in my age group

- I'm disappointed in my time, but I know it was the best I could do given how I felt

- Fitness wise, I'm in better shape than I was last summer (new "hot weather" PR)

- In the future, I will pre-hydrate with electrolyte tablets and use them during the race

- I will think twice about racing hot 10Ks, unless it's Lawyers Have Heart which I always do.

- I need to "operate" on my shoes to get rid of whatever was rubbing on my toe.