Papa John's 10-miler

What a great day for a race. Sunny and 47 at the start, and feeling thankful by mile 2.5 that I went with the shorts and t-shirt this morning. I must admit, part of me lay in bed this morning when the alarm went off at 6:00 and thought, "Ugh. I really don't have it in me this morning." But since this is the third and final leg of the triple crown, and I will be accumulating yet another shirt for finishing all three, I pulled my lazy butt up and headed out. I sat in the car for a long while before heading to the start, and when I crossed the line I had a few more thoughts that this was not going to be one of my better races. Until mile 3 I just really wasn't feeling it, and thought that I may end up walking a lot of it. I've written before that the thought of running the entire race was kind of daunting, and while I had known going into it this morning that I wouldn't run the whole thing, I didn't really have a plan either - so I tried something new. Instead of taking my walk breaks and set-time intervals, I took one-minute walk breaks at each mile marker. This actually worked out quite well, and I think I ended up catching some time when the mile markers ended up being near, or during, a down-hill and I just took advantage of the descending pavement and kept right on running. I felt amazingly great throughout the park and was so proud of myself for running the hills. Historically, the thought of running hills is daunting to me, and my lack of confidence takes over and I end up walking them - at least the majority of them. But, since I had run the park during last weeks training run I knew what to expect when, and I think that helped. Coming out of the park I ran into a friend from my tri group, Terry, who actually started her tri career the same year I did. We`ve done a number of tris together and she's come such a long way - even completing an Ironman a few years ago. Seeing a friendly face put a little spring in my step as I continued to truck along. I was actually feeling so good, and because of a downhill, ended up skipping the 6-mile walk break. At around 7.5 miles I got a side stitch and ended up having to take an unexpected break. Normally I can run through side-stitches, but this one was especially uncomfortable - painful even, so I opted to walk a bit and do some deep breathing. Not long after I started picking up the pace again the stich returned so, again, another unscheduled walk break. After another running attempt however, it seemed to work itself out and I didn't walk again until I was near the crest of a major hill just past the 9 mile marker. I've run many races, and I've completed this particular race a number of times over the past 9 years, and I will always maintain that the last mile of this race always feels like the longest mile ever. I made my way into the football stadium (the race ends INSIDE Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and you actually get to run up one side of the field, across the end zone, then back up the other side for the finish) and remember feeling a bit of relief for my sore legs and feet from the cushiony astroturf. I had been trying to keep a 10-minute pace throughout the race, but the hills, along with that silly side-stitch slowed me down a bit, and I ended up finishing with an average of 10:17/min pace and an un-official 1:44:29 finish. Splits were: 10:08, 10:09, 10:13, 10:29(park)10:22(park), 10:19(park), 9:52(saw my tri buddy), 10:58(side stitch), 10:19, 10:17. This race ended up being a 6-minute PR for me on this course - which I am EXTREMELY happy with considering my lack of motivation this morning. With as well as I've done so far this year, I don't think it's too far fetched to expect another PR during the Derby Mini in four weeks. Now that I think about it..... I`m wondering if I should attempt another marathon this year since I`m in the zone. Hmmmmmmmm........