Lakeshore Drive 10 Mile Run

Well, the race on Sunday was pretty blah.... I did make 1:40 (according to my garmin), but since the garmin said 10.07 miles when I crossed the race clock said 1:41:03 or something...I crossed the starting line at 15 seconds, but that still puts me over 1:40:00 ....ugh. I didn't even feel tired; I just wasn't in it at the time. After Saturday night's wonderful nutrition choices and only 5 hours of sleep, the last thing I wanted to do was go drive an to run almost 2. My stomach was in knots due to my brilliance with the cheetos, and I was already stressing about how many bathrooms would be on the course. I stopped to do business at a gas station about ten minutes away. Mission accomplished, but not completely it seemed, so I was still stressed. I knew it wasn't going to go well...here's a brief recap:

The Good:
This is a new Longest Distance for me! That really helped 9.3 to the finish go by really fast and effortlessly. (9.3 or 15k is the longest I'd done before this, and only once, in May). So it was the longest and much, much easier, which must mean my conditioning has improved. In Disney in May I was ready to keel over once I crossed the line. It was also good that I found the start so easily, and good that it started so early. Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans is really pretty. It (obviously) skirts Lake Ponchartrain which is huge, so it felt like running along the ocean. One last good thing was that during the short loop (out and back 1.5) there were potties every quarter mile or so. This gave me reassurance that when the urge struck, I wasn't going to have to run to someone's yard :)

The Bad:
The bathroom problem. I got my number and immediately got in line for the disgusting port-o-lets. I was lucky enough to get one with toilet paper, but couldn't go. I knew would cause problems later, but what could I do? The announcer yapped forever while everyone was at the start, which is something I also hate. Just start already! It's already 80 degrees at 7:30, are you waiting for it to get hotter??? Finally we're off. It was two laps, an out and back 3 mile for the 5kers, and then an out and back 7 mile for the 10 milers. This was incredibly boring. I hate out and backs, and it's even worse to do it twice! On the Outs there was wind driving at you. It was actually good the second time out because it felt cooling as it whipped against all the sweat pouring down my face (gross, I know). But it also felt as if it held you back. Oddly, I didn't feel it helping me on the Backs...all it seemed to do was blow all my sticky hair to my face so I couldn't see :( It also sucked that the sun was BEATING down on us the whole time. None of this was shady. I got a blister on the side of my foot that bothered me from 2 miles on. Now I mentioned there were a lot of potties on the first out and back. Therefore this also covered first 1.5 of second 7 mile loop. So that brings me to 4.5 miles. Finally I get to see some new ground, and guess what? No more bathrooms! Residential neighborhoods :( My fears of course became stronger, which, in turn, made me feel like I had to go. It wasn't urgent yet, so I kept on moving. By mile 6 I saw one! This reassured me, and since I knew the turn around was in half a mile, I kept going, figuring I could walk back if I was suddenly stricken. I made back, and was now at 7 miles, so the game began of how to avoid hitting the outhouses. I saw the one from 6 miles, and thought...'well, it's only 1.5 to the next one, I can wait'...and so began my game. I did make it, all the way, in fact, only to finally cross the line, get some water, and get stuck in a conversation with someone I didn't know who wouldn't shut up! All of a sudden I was just like, 'excuse me!' as I ran away when the guy was mid-sentence. Luckily I did, again, get one with tp.

The New:
this race had one element I wasn't prepared for: Hills! I always liked running hills in CA, but I was a lot more prepared for it then. Needless to say, on the way out there was a downhill, and two up-and-downs. I vowed that on the way back I would pass someone on each up....and I did! Actually the last guy I passed was around 8 miles, and he came up to me after to tell me he tried to pace off me when I passed him, but couldn't keep up!

So the miles weren't all bad...I think the last two were somewhere in the 9s. And I could have pushed it for sure; I was just worried about passing out from dehydration (see Saturday's post) or going in my pants...

The weird thing was, usually when I finish after a few minutes I am invigorated and full of energy. Yesterday I felt like crap all day. Was I just hungover? Not sure. But it definitely put the fear in me to watch what I eat/drink before a race! Next up a 5k this coming Saturday, I think....maybe I can get closer to the 25 minutes flat I need by November 1..