This morning I mosied up to the start line of the Cherry Pit Ten Miler, my first Striders champ series race of the year (no Iron Man for me this year...I was just out of the hospital with a baby when the Valentine's Day 5K was run). Last year I ran a 10-mile PR at this race. A year and a baby make a lot of difference and are very humbling for this maniac runner who just took for granted that I would keep getting better and better when I began my PR streak last year. As I've said before, I'm looking at a rebuilding year.
Since coming back from pregnancy (it's been nine weeks now), this was definitely my longest run. Did I have any business racing 10 miles with only a 7 miler under my belt since November? Probably not, but oh well. I didn't really expect much (especially since I did a six mile run and barre class yesterday).
Thanks to the great conversation with Jen Bornemann for the whole run, I actually surprised myself. I think Jen and I are a good match right now as far as fitness and pace. We are both rebuilding. We both wish rebuilding would go a bit faster. And, we have a lot to talk about. How often can you go ten miles without a single lull in the conversation? Soon, the miles ahead turned into miles behind (though it would be hard to forget every foot of all those hills...my glutes are not happy right now). And sooner than I expected, the finish line loomed ahead of us. Jen was awesome and I greatly appreciate the comraderie when I really expected to be running solo today. Thanks Jen!
And, who can forget to give a shout out to that cheering squad at the finish line? I love hearing the diva cheering me through the final sprint of a race. She is so excited and I love it. Today she was joined by one of her friends, the daughter of my friend Ann, who crossed the finish about 10 minutes ahead of me (proud of you Ann!).
While the rest of the day was slightly less ambitious than the beginning, the race wasn't the end of the exercise. I got to take the diva for a bike ride and some playground time in the sun. Then tonight she joined me for my booty blaster workout (my daily activity for the weight loss challenge). Wait, I've also got to tell you about this week's nutritional challenge...100 ounces of water daily. Holy pee time. I think I may have crossed the 100 ounce threshold a few times in my life, but only when dictated by activity and environment. Conscientiously thinking about drinking 100 ounces of water is a very different endeavor. Let's see how I do with it for the rest of the week.
As I head off to get my pre-bedtime muscle rub down from my husband, I'm fastforwarding to tomorrow and am fairly certain that after a 16 mile weekend (33+ mile week!), I'm going to need to take a day of rest from running. Though I end the week exhausted, I feel motivated and happy with what I've accomplished. Thanks for the support of my friends, family and running community. Happy trails!!!
Stats -
Miles: 10.13
Time: 1:50:36 (average pace of 10:55 per mile)
Location: Edgewater, MD...Cherry Pit Ten course
Feeling: exhausted but put together
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