Starting off with a Bang

Today was a day full of PR’s. I ran in the Baltimore 10 miler, which is a personal distance record for me. My training wasn’t as extensive as I would have liked, so my goal was just to run the entire time. My brother and his girlfriend, Suzi, came in for the weekend to run the race too! Pictures to come soon.

After the race I went immediately to the med tent to sit down. I get faint kind of easily and the heat didn’t get to me until I had stopped running. Three water bottles later I was fine. The cold washcloth handed out post race was hands down the best thing offered at the finish. Besides the free beer, live music, and AWESOME swag!

Mile by Mile recap

Mile 1- Adrenaline rush! It was so crowded in the beginning it was hard to even think.

Mile 2- Uh-oh starting to cramp. Not a good sign this early.

Mile 3- Still cramping, where is the water station? Need water now!

Mile 4- My cramps died down a little, but I don’t think I can keep up my pace if I want to finish the whole thing without walking. Thank you Hydrapouch! Now I can actually drink more than a teaspoon of Gatorade without getting the remainder in my eye!

Mile 5- Such a pretty portion of the race looping around a giant lake.

Mile 6- I just ran a 10k a few weeks ago, this is just 4 miles more. I can do it! The sun is soo strong though. NEED GATORADE NOW!

Mile 7- My legs feel like lead. Mile 7 feels like the longest mile ever!

Mile 8-  Legs are still feeling like lead and now my feet are super hot.

Mile 9- My legs feel better, but the last 1.5 miles have a lot of uphill.

Mile 10 / Finish – I ran the whole time! (my goal) but the heat had me feeling a little faint after I finished so I made a beeline for the med tent.

I set out to run the whole thing – which I did! – and didn’t have a particular goal time in mind. It was too hard to keep a 9:15-30 pace after mile 4 so I listened to my body and decided no matter how long it would take me I would finish the race running. I ended up finishing 1:45 and I’m proud of every minute of it. I never gave up or doubted myself even though I knew I was running slow. I ran 10 miles today and that is the greatest accomplishment no matter if I ran it in an hour or in three hours.

I have such a great appreciation for those who can train and run in longer distances (you marathoners are crazy!) I just don’t think road races longer than seven miles are for me. I’m just not cut out for the  big numbers when it comes to running. I feel like that’s just being too harsh on my body, it likes biking better anyways! I would rather stick to 5ks, 10ks, and multisport event. Does that mean that I will never run a double-digit in the future? No. I’m probably going to focus on triathlons first, but I would bet a million dollars that I would sign up for a marathon in the next five years.

Tonight we went to Boordy Vineyards to enjoy some live music and vino. It was packed!

My Brother, Mom, and I

After a tasting we decided on the Riesling and a white that was a mixture of a Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay, and a Seyval.

I had the varietal wine.

We packed our own picnic to munch on throughout the night.

Quinoa with sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes, shredded zucchini, and goat cheese

Storytelling:

Overall a great ending to a great race and a great day!

What’s your favorite distance? Do you like to constantly challenge yourself?

Casey

Tags: Quinoa, Race Recap