Papa John's 10 Miler Race Recap

Oh heeeeeyy guys. Guess who forgot she raced on Saturday? Do you wanna know how it went? No? You should probably stop reading then. But before I recap can I just say how tiring racing is? I raced the 5K, took the week off, then the 10k, then the 7 mile Run the Bluegrass, then the 10 miler. Shew! I know I'm not fast or anything but I'm beat. Glad I now have almost 3 weeks until my next half so I can chill out a little...aside from the 25K bike ride  I may or may not do on the 20th. I've never done a real ride before other than the Mayor's Hike, Bike and Paddle back in May when I first learned to ride and that was like a kid's ride really. Seriously. A family ride. Awkward. Anyhow, on to the race.

I woke up pumped for this race. The 10 miler is my absolute favorite race ever! The course is never too crowded, it's got some hills strategically placed right at the sweet spot of this distance, the weather is usually gorgeous and you get to finish on the field inside Cardinal Stadium. What more could you ask for? Only my mom was available to come with me so there aren't many photos since she's not much of a photog but it's always nice to have someone available to come with.

People kept walking in front of me and I couldn't stop laughing at how mad my mom was getting...

This is quite a boring report because it's ease is what makes it my favorite race. Parking is easy, there are tons of bathrooms (this time mine still had part of the sanitation ribbon on it!) and there's enough space that it never feels too terribly crowded as you wait around. This year it was also the same day as our Final Four game so there were lots of drunken overly excited spectators and guys in speedos and body paint. 

We go mad hard in the Ville

I started kind of close to the front but off to the side like normal and was surprised to actually be passing people. I tried to go out easy knowing I had a long way to go and that my legs were tired from 7 miles uphill in Lexington. I did my first mile in 10:48 or so and was happy with that. Unfortunately I got a little overzealous and did miles 2 and 3 in the 10:15/20 range and they came back to bite me as I did the hilly miles 4-6. I did a little more walking than I would have liked but I wasn't feeling any real pain and I was glad. My legs were tired but not hurting. Once you pass the mile 6 marker it's downhill out of the park and then a straight flat shoot to the stadium...until mile 9. Mile 9 has a monster hill but it's not long, just steep. After that it's just into the stadium but it's an excruciating last mile because you can hear all the excitement and see the stadium. It's still worth it. I finished oh so slightly faster than my January (flat and fast course) 10 miler which was 1:53:59.

 

After the race there was no second breakfast because I just wanted to go home. My plan was to lay on the couch for the rest of the day.

My plan for lazy lasted for about an hour and a half. Then I just got up and back to work. Womp womp. But all in all it was a success. I was definitely sore and still am so I took Sunday off but then I did something really crazy yesterday...I swam! Say what?! Yeah, apparently I still know how. Good to know. 

P.S. - A big Congratulations I think for my good pals at Team Awesome for their engagement. Read all about it here. I promise it's much more interesting than anything I post ;)