Monday, April 8, 2013

Aquarium Run recap and sugar detox wrap-up

Saturday was the Aquarium Run 10k, the goal race for my Pathways group.
We all met pre-race for a group photo


It was a great day for a race, cloudy and a little on the cool side.
After the photo, we all made our way to the starting corral. At this point, I still did not have a pacing strategy. My co-coach, Rozdi was running intervals. I knew I did not want to run intervals. But, because we had been running intervals in training, I wasn't sure anyone else would want to.
The gun went off and we settled into an easy 12:00 min/mile pace. At 9 minutes, Rozdi shouted out to walk. We were so close to the water stop, I told the goup that I wasn't going to walk, but would walk through the water stop instead. Melanie and Angie stayed with me.

We walked through the first water stop and resumed our pace of 11:45-12:15, walking only through the water stops or for a short break when one of us was tired.

Mile 4 was our slowest lap. When we turned around and headed back south, the wind had picked up significantly, so we now had a strong head wind.
Although the course was relatively flat, this lap was "uphill"
And, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit tired myself.
But, they picked the pace back up at mile 5 and didn't let up.
They kicked it in on mile 6 and finished strong!!
Melanie beat her goal time with a finish time of 1:14:24

My husband, who had gotten a 10k PR, was waiting for me at the finish.


I actually missed the finish line initially because I was so focused on my runners. My husband had to stop me and tell me to go back to cross the finish line!

 Then, I went back to find Rozdi and Lee Ann.
They were on the home stretch, just about to round the corner to the finish line.
It was pretty awesome all of us running in together!

I wasn't really concerned about my time. I just wanted to run without pain and finish.
I accomplished both, so it was a successful run for me.

I played around with not using Gu or Honey Stingers on this run. I fueled my run with dried fruit and applesauce instead. I never really felt a bonk, so I think it was pretty successful!
The post race food and festivities were pretty good. It even included admission to the Oklahoma Aquarium. We opted to go back out and cheer for our friends who had run the half marathon instead.

This was my first time running this race. Overall, it was a very well-organized, fun run! I would do it again and I highly recommend it! The course is fast and flat if one is wanting to PR. Many of my friends did as a matter of fact.

Now, I've got to focus on training for the Camp Barnabas half marathon in 12 days! Eek!! 
It will be my first half since December and I'm more than a little nervous!
An injury sure can affect you more than your physical well-being. It has damaged my pysche, I think more than I realized was possible. It has made me doubt myself and knocked my confidence level down quite a bit.

My training this week will include:

Monday: 3mile run, 30 Day Shred
Tuesday: Speedwork @ TU track (if it's not storming, as predicted), 30 Day Shred
Wednesday: 3 mile run, 30 Day Shred
Thursday: Urban Fit cross training/bootcamp; 30 Day Shred
Friday: REST!
Saturday: 10-13 mile training run

Saturday was also the last day of the sugar detox. I made it all week and I feel like it was successful. I'm not sure how or even if I'm going to incorporate processed foods, etc back into my diet. I'm thinking, if I didn't miss it, then I don't really need it.

Have a wonderful Monday!!






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