Another 10k I wish was 10k!

So yesterday I hauled myself to the start line of the Jingle Bell run against my better judgment! I woke up tired and grumpy (hard to believe but true!) and had ZERO interest in running. I'd ate poorly all week and had spent 16 of the last 48 hours at volleyball tournaments with Ali. I did not want to run. You're probably asking yourself (if you are actually reading this) why did I go? Well, I have this thing. When I say I'm going to do something, I really really really like to get it done. Sometimes I don't get to the grocery store when promised, and I might miss a load of laundry that needs to be done, but for the most part, I complete tasks when expected. This race fell into the same category. Plus, I had a few athletes there and I knew it would look bad if the coach faked sick! Could I go to the pool at 1:00 for a swim when I called in sick and missed the race? I figured it wouldn't look good!

So, Doug picked me up at 7:45, and we met Leslie Ann who graciously had picked up my race package at the Red and White club at 8:30. As we warmed up and got ready to start I was acutely aware of my whining. "I don't feel like racing." "I'll wait till the gun goes then see how I feel." It was pathetic, and I can see that I play the same card a lot of other athletes play before a race... I'll state all the things wrong with me before the gun goes so I have an excuse if the race goes poorly! Oddly, I don't do this in a triathlon or even an Ironman for that matter. I guess that's where I'm more confident in my abilities.

So, the gun goes off and I start running. I'm in a pack with 3 other gals, and I'm at the back. I foolishly think I'll be able to hold on to them and maybe even more up a few places. I'm thinking they started too fast and will die; little did I know they were just warming up and had way more gas in the tank on the second lap! I did pass one just before the 5k turnoff but my little celebration was cut short when she actually took the 5k turn off! We weren't in the same race!

We had no km markers and I didn't have pace, so all I ran by was heart rate. My last 10k it came up, and then it dropped. I didn't have the legs to keep it in race zone in the last few k. This one went much better. I was able to hold 170+ (which is really high for me) from about 3 - 4k on, and I was happy with that. I thought I was executing well, and was excited that this race would confirm that the speed work I've been doing would pay off.

I could see the finish line... I looked at my watch... what! 39 minutes? There is no way! I would love to be a low 40 min 10k runner, but let's be realistic! I crossed the finish line in 41:56. Should I celebrate or should I cry because there is no way that was 10k! I did my usual Garmin check and people had between 8.85k and 9k on their GPS units. (I really need to get a battery for my foot pod.) I came home wanting desperately to confirm I ran a good race, and spent the next 4 hours on google pedometer measuring distance. I contemplated emailing the race organizer, but this was a charity fun run. What could I expect. They have better things to do I'm sure than tell me how far their race was; I supect the didn't know.

After many phone calls and oodles of time wasted I confirmed, in my only mind, that the race was 9.3km. That, corrected to a 10k distance put me at 45:04 and a 10k PR! It's not official, or on paper, but I'm going with it. I think I executed my race well for a change; that's a new thing for me in a 10k!