Race or not to Race.

Even though I feel as though this giant "wall" has come down, it doesn't mean I'm in a good mental state for racing.  When I race, it means I'm putting forth 100% effort, looking forward to a great finish, going over the stats with my dad, and finishing up with a splendid race report.  I knew I wasn't ready to race, but this run on Saturday was looming over my head and I wasn't sure if I should follow through with it.

On Friday, I had planned on doing two 3 mile loops with Jamie but after the second loop, I had to back down.  The humidity was a killer and I felt as though my body was made of concrete.  I had decided not to race on Saturday if the weather was going to be the same, and even if it was better, I still wasn't sure I wanted to put myself into race mode.

Later that afternoon, I noticed a post on my FB page from Kara asking if I was running the race and volunteering to run with me!  It was just what I needed to hear.  Maybe running with someone would allow me to run this race and come out with a positive experience, further destroying that wall?  So I decided to participate in Running of the Bulls 8K with Kara.

I've never been more thankful for the opportunity to run a race with a friend, it was exactly what I needed and Kara was more than willing to push me through it!!!!!!  I'm so grateful!  The plan was to start near closer to the start line but not get caught in those paces, stay around an 8min/mi pace, no walking allowed, and for Kara to talk while I huffed and puffed.  This pace was a walk in the park for her, so she had no trouble chatting away.  The first mile went well, I felt pretty good and positive.  The second mile my legs began to feel a bit heavy and I struggled to avoid walking through the first water stop (who even needs water in a 5 mile race??)  The Boston marathon and the 25K totally burnt me out, it became more obvious as the minutes past by.  I questioned myself by mile 3, but Kara kept us going, up and down hill after hill. I knew we were slowing down by this point but I didn't care, I wasn't sure I would actually finish at this point (if I had been alone, I would have walked the last 2 miles).  I had to stop twice during the race, my heart was racing so fast it felt like it was beating outside of my ribcage, literally.  I kept glancing at my Garmin to make sure our pace wasn't 10min/mi because that's what it felt like we were doing, thankfully we weren't.  Once we got to that last turn, last downhill, onto the race track, I felt like I could push to the finish.  With the finish line in sight, it was a mad dash to beat the clock and get this race over with (and get rid of the puking sensation that was about the level of my esophagus by now).

Finish time 38:24, that's officially a PR for me by 1:10sec.  I'm still in disbelief.  This made for a second place age group finish for me, all thanks to Kara!  I am sharing my winnings with her!

I left feeling like I had just won gold in the Olympics, not that I know what that feels like, but it's that good euphoric feeling that you just pushed yourself harder than you thought you could and you were rewarded for it.  Now to see if I can continue to work on shorter distances for the summer and perhaps get faster.