3 Races, 1 Weekend Part 1

What an A-MA-ZING first day of races!

After much debate I decided to throw caution to the wind and ran both the 15k and 5k this morning. It was one of the most accomplished raced days I have ever experienced and its only the beginning!

With all the race excitement spinning through my head, I ended up sleeping horribly last night. I tossed and turned, waking up every hour to make sure I didn’t sleep to late. After not being able to sleep a wink, I finally crawled out of bed at the 4:30 wake up call.

For my pre-race fuel I stuck with what I knew works best: a Whole Wheat Bagel, Almond Butter and Apple Slice.

Unfortunately my stomach was so nervous and full of butterflies, I only ate about 3/4 of this.

Once we arrived, waiting for the race to start was the serve, I was so excited I just kept jumping up and down with glee. I had no idea what to expect!

Caitlin and I ended up squeezing in close to the start line, which end up being a blessing in disguise.

This allowed us to avoid the bottleneck effect that I’m sure was effecting the thousands of others lined up behind.

Once the whistle blew and we took off the adrenaline never wore off. I took off and felt comfortable at my under 9:00 minute pace. I had no intention of PRing this 15k, but once I started going I couldn’t stop. I ended up getting negative splits on my miles and had to keep glancing at my Garmin to make sure I was really going this speed.

I held off at the beginning with Caitlin at my side, but after mile 4 I told her I was running an 8:30 pace and was going to keep at it. She fell back while I took off.

I kept waiting for an urge to slow down to hit me, but it never came.

After the turn around point I took out two Cliff Shot Blocks and let them melt in my mouth for a burst of mid-race energy.

The course for the race was beautiful. It took us down Bayshore, right along the rive and the early sun hitting the sun was nothing but a spectacular sight. Everything about this race was perfect and I just went with it.

After mile 9 I pushed myself to all of my capabilities and ended up crossing the finish line at 1:21:50!!! That’s 9 minutes faster then my last 15k back in September!! I can’t believe I shaved so much time in a 6 month time span!

Here are my split times:

• Mile 1: 8:58
• Mile 2: 8:53
• Mile 3: 8:59
• Mile 4: 9:06
• Mile 5: 8:51
• Mile 6: 8:36
• Mile 7: 8:42
• Mile 8: 8:52
• Mile 9: 8:31
• Finish: 2:20

And my FInal Stats:

• Distance: 9.3 miles
• Time: 1:21:50
• Avg Pace: 8:48
• Avg HR: 176
• Calories Burned: 910

Caitlin and I both relished in out first round of medals and we’re starting to realize how crazy we were knowing we weren’t finished yet.

We had 30 minutes to make it to the start of the 5k and run a mush shorter version of the course all over again. I quickly ate this Odwalla Bar in the transition time.

There was an INSANE amount of people running the 5k and we didn’t even make it across the start line until 6 minutes after the initial whistle had been blown

We ran the race causally with no high expectations and ended up finishing together respectively at a 31:18 finish time.

5k Stats:

• Distance: 3.1 miles
• Time: 31:18
• Avg Pace: 10:05
• Avg HR: 167
• Calories Burned: 306

Caitlin and I both proudly adorned our double medal earnings.

After the race we were very lucky to be able to find Jenna or as I referred to her as a ‘needle in a haystack.’

She finished an awesome time at the 5k and we were all so proud.

We were sadly disappointed with the after race fueling stations (I really wanted a bagel) but I did happen to come across this coveted tent.

Unfortunately they were limiting everyone to two bars a piece.

I still managed to sneak six and immediately dug into one.

I also had half of this Gatorade before I gagged at the sweetness and threw it out.

For some reason we were delayed at picking up lunch and by the time we made it to Greenwise to grab something quick to go, I was lighted headed from low blood sugar, luckily Caitlin Saved me with half of her roll in the store (no picture)

From Greenwise I got the Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Sandwich with a Spanish Bean Soup.

Sorry for the pour picture, I was starving and could not wait any longer to eat.

It has already been a LONG and satisfying day, I think I deserve a nap. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend as well. See you tonight!