Fort Steilacoom 10K

Today's 10K was the first of three races I signed up to run in the Steilacoom Resolution Series. As with any race my nerves were high the night before. Even though I have been running for years the nerves never go away. I always tell myself that it is good to be nervous because it means I am serious about my race. I usually spend the night before getting some new tunes put together and finding the perfect running outfit. I do all of this just to lay in bed thinking about my race. This mental preparation is so important to me and it is something I have been doing since I was 15 years old. Eventually I fall asleep only to dream of missing the race. I woke up feeling a bit light headed, extremely nervous, and not very hungry. I took a warm shower to warm up and forced myself to eat a little of my homemade granola. I puttered around the house waiting for Mike to get back from rounding at the hospital only to realize when he walked in the door that I didn't have much time to get to the race before it started. I got there with 15 minutes to spare, grabbed my number and pinned it on, met up with some of my friends, and headed out to the track to warm up. I put on my music and was so excited to listen to my new mix when I noticed my ipod stalled. The exact same thing happened to me when I started the Seattle Half Marathon...only I didn't know how to reset it back then. It's a good thing I learned how to reset my ipod so I wouldn't be without my prescious music. I was starting to get a little nervous after it stalled a second time. WHAT LUCK! I only had two minutes before the race and I was panicking a little. I decided to just hold my ipod in my hands until a couple of minutes after the race started I realized I did not like that. I opted to leave my arm band in the car and use my back zip pocket in my shirt for my ipod. That was probably a mistake but it was too late. I quickly shoved it in my back pocket and prayed it would not stall again. I ended up running my first mile in 6:44. It was my fastest mile of the day. After trailing right behind another girl for the next mile the road split and all the kilometer runners went one way and the mile runners went another. Today's race was either a 10K or 10 mile run. I was glad I was not running 10 miles. That girl left to run with the mile group so I was left to pick someone new to latch onto. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep up the pace but somehow I managed to stay under 7 minute miles. My second mile was 6:52. I was happy it wasn't that much slower but realized I would not be running my original plan of 6:40 splits. I was a little distraught when I clocked my third mile at 7:03. After turning around at the half way point I realized that I had been running uphill. I knew the third mile was obviously uphill but it wasn't until the fourth mile that I realized most of the first half was a gradual uphill. I ended up running my fourth mile in 6:52. It was about this time I realized that I was indeed the first female runner as people I was passing cheered me on. I do love runners and how they are so supportive even when they are still running. I got a little adrenaline rush and picked it up a bit until all of a sudden I started to feel tired and my mental state became a little lazy. I turned around to see how far behind the next female was and she wasn't that far behind. I had a good enough lead and all I needed to do was maintain my pace. For a tiny moment I felt like I just wanted to slow down but I didn't let that get the best of me and I just tried to stay close to those two men in red shirts that passed me. It is usually at this point in the race that it becomes more of a mental game than a physical game. I gave all I had to complete the fifth mile in 6:53. I was moving as fast as I could but my sixth mile was still only 6:58. The last little bit to the finish line was my fastest. I was running a 6:26 per mile pace. I usually push it hard when I can see the finish line. I clocked in at 43:07 for 6.27 miles. I couldn't believe I was the first female to finish. It was such a rush. I had many people I didn't know come up and congratulate me. I really do love runners. They are truly happy for those that do well and they support those that come in last. Everyone wins because everyone is respected. It is not only my love for running itself but the people I meet through running that makes this sport so special to me. It was a great day and I even got a cool little placque for my first place finish!!!