http://www.littlemiamihalf.com/
Training
Wait, I was supposed to train for this? I started by increasing my long runs from 4 to 4.5 miles. The next week I said to myself, that went so well, why not try this 5.75 mile loop you just mapped out? Well the answer to that question is because it is 87 degrees outside, humid, and it turns out the route has a lot of uphill sections.
I ended up walking a longer chunk of that than I care to admit- which was really disappointing when I had been able to run 4.5 miles the previous week with no issue. But I celebrated my calorie burn with chocolate milk and a carton of fried rice (did I mention a big part of this running thing is supposed to be losing weight?)
The following weekend I took another stab at it- 6 miles. I was going to run my normal circuit twice. After some reading I realized I had been focusing on speed and distance, and what I needed to do was run a little slower if I was going to make this happen. 13 minute miles- that was what I was going to push for.
The long run made me realize I needed new songs on my playlist- being out that long meant a good chunk of my music played twice. I also realized that while a 13 minute mile felt slow for the first 3 miles, I didn't feel like a 13:45 mile was slow after that- and that ended up being my average pace when I finished the 6 miles.
The following week I don't know what happened, but I really only ran twice during the weekdays. On Saturday my nephew was injured and put on life support. On Sunday I tried to run the six miles again. The sadness, and congestion from all the crying and getting a cold, really just made it miserable. I barely did 3 miles. I was hoping the endorphins would make the day more bearable, but it just didn't quite do it.
Because of being sick and just general sadness, I didn't really run the week before the race.
The Race
I was extremely concerned about my ability to run the entire race. While I hadn't run in the week leading up to it except for maybe a few miles, I had tried to watch what I ate. I hate vegetables, so if I try to eat them I generally rely on stir fry. The night before I definitely ate too much spaghetti.
The morning of I had a slim fast shake when I woke up and a poptart as I was driving. I've found that the slimfast shakes don't bother my stomach when I run and give me some fuel before the long runs. Its probably the sugar, but it works.
I got there in plenty of time to see the half marathon runners start (they go 30 minutes ahead of the 10k). I thought that would give me plenty of time to use the bathroom one last time. Since I'm a total priss, I skipped the port-o-potty line and went to the park bathroom line. BIG mistake. I wondered why the line was slow- turns out there was one working stall. It also turns out the stall had holes in it so if the front of the line was too close they could basically watch you. Also there was no soap- at least the port-o-potty would have had hand sanitizer. By the time I got out the race was about to start, so I wove my way to the back of the pack where I belong.
Once the race started I quickly established myself in the back. I seem to run at a speed that averages out to the same pace as some of the run-walkers. I run by them, but they would pass me when they started running again. It was almost a game to try and pass them, but I refused to go much faster than my 13 minute mile. I was also behind a lady for several miles that made me question what I look like when I run. To me it looked like she was shuffling along at a pace that couldn't have been much faster than a walk- but she was clearly keeping pace with me.
Eventually after several miles I found myself wanting to get past people I had been with for a while, and others who had started at a faster pace but had fallen back to the back when they couldn't sustain it. Once I started passing I realized I didn't feel bad when I went faster, so I kept it up. Toward the end I'm pretty sure I was running something around an 11:00 mile, which is flying for me. My total time as 1:17, compared to my goal of 1:20.
Afterwards I felt great. I didn't really feel like I needed to recover, or that I had just run my farthest distance yet.
The only let down was when my Garmin somehow erased the race data!
Pros and Cons of the Little Miami 10k
Take this for what it's worth given my far from elite runner status:
Pros:
- Shade- it just made the whole course feel wonderful the whole time. It was possibly the most comfortable I've been on a run in months.
- Flat course- unlike some, I find the distance challenging enough
- Number of participants- In the few races I've run I sometimes find myself fairly alone- slower than most runners but faster than most walkers. However, due to the loop of this course I could see everyone run by, which I liked, and I never felt too alone. But it wasn't crowded at all.
- Time- I know most runs are in the morning, I liked that it was at 7:30 before it got too hot.
- Nature- It was prettier than running around with nothing to look at.
Cons:
- Shirts-I was not a fan of the t-shirts. They were technical shirts, but a heavier kind. And they were white. I got an XL (many races I go with an L). However, it was still tight and because of the white you can just see everything under it.
- Swag bag- just nothing exciting. There really weren't any fliers for other races or anything at all. I know that isn't the point, but sometimes there is good stuff!
- Packet pickup- times just seemed a little limited. Doable, just not great.
I swear, next time I will try to remember to take pictures...
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