TC 10 Mile - Sunday, October 5th
Sunday morning started out a little cool and overcast as my boyfriend and I headed downtown for our races. For him, the TC Marathon, for me, the TC 10. Was I ever ready for this race. I was just so excited because I new it would be great and I'm sure the endorphins carried me through the first 30 minutes.
Mile 1 - people are going to the bathroom already!?! Cripes people, it's only 10 miles. Didn't your mothers ever teach you to go before you leave? I didn't get it.
Mile 3 - Wow, that went really fast. Over the river and through the snow....well, over the river anyway. The new I-35 bridge was sparkling new.
Mile 5 - Seriously! Mile 5. I just powered up some hills. I hauled on the downhills. I'm running by at least 50-75 people per mile. Or maybe 5-10. But doing great. What's that I see Summit Ave already? This race is flying by. I even ran down a few squirrels. Granted they were already dead but I did accidentally step on one. Standing there in the crowd as I ran on Summit was 3/5 of my circle of friends called the Fab 5. 1/5 lives in another state and 1/5 of us was running (that was me). High fives all around and a big smile carried me on.
Mile 6 - PowerShot time. Cafe Latte with 2X the caffeine for that extra boot up the hills. I think it worked. I swear I was speeding along and felt really strong. I couldn't believe it had been 6 miles already. Oh look! There's Allison! She was having a great hair day!
Mile 8 - The last two miles was more of the same. But then. It started to sprinkle. By 8.5 it was raining and by 9 it was a downpour. I lost a little of my optimism. Instantly, the race was hard. My legs were tired, I was done. I was cold despite my really cut outfit and matching leg warming socks.
The Last Quarter Mile - I couldn't feel my legs and was starting the downhill part toward the finish. I just wanted to be done so I was running as fast as my legs would move back and forth. I was worried I would stumble and roll into the finish. But I didn't. Finished with a 1:42 and change - 13 minutes faster than last year (and about 13 pounds lighter - maybe that helped). The Fab 5 minus 1 was there at the finish to hold an umbrella and get me some coffee. It was really nice to have them there. It's always a huge bonus to finish and not feel alone, I think.
I was never more uncomfortable all day than after finishing. It was freezing and raining. My body was in good shape though. In fact I felt like I had just run a 5K instead of 10 miles. The next day though....yeah - my legs reminded me how far I ran. Youch!
