Healthy Twists

I feel so fancy with that post title! Race recaps are always so fun to read, don’t you think? It’s weird. I’ve been thinking about this 10k for months, following my training plan for eight weeks, and now it’s come and gone and it wasn’t the big deal that I thought it would be. As I’ve said before, nothing has been as monumental as that 4 mile training run where something within me changed in the way I view fitness, running, and myself. But this race was a long time coming (I think we registered in March?), so it was pretty incredible that the big day had finally come.

But anyway, the race was at Camp Pendleton, as part of their Hard Corps series (that includes the Mud Run that I’d never do!). This course is described as:

The ultimate in Hard Corps Competition in a cross-country 10K. The course begins at Camp Horno, Home of 1st Marines, and winds up, up, up, into the hills of Camp Pendleton. The 10K is a loop out-and-back course that takes you past scenic vistas along gently rolling terrain.

(“Gently rolling” terrain my ASS but more on that in a bit,)

I woke up at around 4:45, even though I had set my alarm for 5:15. I think I was just too excited to get going! I had a small handful of cereal (man, I forgot how amazing PB Puffins are) and a cup of coffee. I packed a 1/2 peanut-butter sandwich for the road. We left the condo at 6 and I ate my sandwich around 6:30, which ended up being perfect fuel. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time before the race started at 8:o5 AM, and I guess I planned a little too well because we were almost an hour early. Oh well, better than late!

I stretched and jumped around a little bit to warm up (and pass the time). And, according to this picture, my head started floating in front of my body.

After a moment of silence in memory of our fallen soldiers, and all those affected by the recent tragedy at Fort Hood, we were off and running! I knew the first mile was going to be a killer…and it was. Turns out, if you don’t train on hills…they suck. I ran halfway up the hill (maybe less?) and then I decided to walk. I was concerned with burning out early (as I did on my first 5k last year) and I new I had a long ways to go.

Once I (finally!) got up that hill, my watch said it had been about 16 minutes, but I didn’t care. I had no real time goal; I just wanted to give it my all and enjoy it. For the first two miles, I was focused on maintaining a nice even pace, rocking out to my music and thinking about all the hard work I had put into this day.

I realized in a hurry that the first hill would NOT be the last one on this course. I made a deal with myself. I would allow myself to walk up the hills, as long as I kept going strong the rest of the time. I was not allowed to be disappointed by walking even if some boyfriends people believe it doesn’t count as “running” the race if you stop to walk. Once I allowed that, I took each hill as it came and if I wanted to run it, I did, and if I wanted to walk, I did. It worked well for me. (My heart rate walking uphill was about 20 bpm faster then running on flat terrain…tough stuff!)

Even though the course was tough, the mile markers seemed to come pretty quickly, and before I knew it I passed the mile 5 stop and I knew it was all downhill from there. Unfortunately, it was literally downhill from there, and after running (trotting?) down a fairly steep hill, I started getting an cramp in the bottom of my right foot. I get those cramps from time to time, usually towards the end of a long hike. It’s like, my feet know that it’s almost time to stop, but not quite, and decide to mess with me for fun.

I knew there wasn’t much I could do about the cramp so I decided to just give it my all and keep running until the end. Mitch finished before me and grabbed the camera to document my final steps.

And just like that, it was over! I downed some electrolyte-enhanced water they were handing out at the finish line, and stretched for a few minutes right away. This was a small event so post-race snacks were limited, but I did snag a few orange slices before we hit the road.

I was definitely proud of myself after crossing that finish line. I mean, I ran (“completed,” whatever) a 1ok, yo!

Here are my final race stats:

Clock time: 1:14:08
Chip time: 1:13:48 (I wore a chip! I’m so legit)
Average min/mile: 12:03

Like I said, since that first mile took so long, I was very happy with my time. I was actually expecting to come in later. Mitch was a trooper and did the race too, even though he got injured over a month ago and hasn’t been able to run much since. He finished in a little over an hour, and he was a bit disappointed in that, but he says he wants to do it again next year—and train on hills—to try and beat this year’s time. Personally, I think he did great.

Mitch re-enacted his running technique and modeled the t-shirts we got at the race. I love long-sleeve t-shirts!

Yeah, we’re silly at 9:30 AM after running a 10k and being up for over 5 hours already.

In a very un-Hallie move, I wasn’t hungry at all after the race, but I knew I’d regret not eating so I had a bowl of cereal, yogurt, and persimmon (similar to this). I then took a nap—or two—before heading out for a girls’ night that might have ended with me eating back each of the 675 calories I burned and then some at Extraordinary Desserts, which is the bakery/cafe responsible for the cake I talked about.

Now that this 10k is under my belt, I need a new goal! I actually have two. Well, three. My longest-term goal is the Disneyland Half Marathon in September 2010. I think that might be my next race, because well, races aren’t cheap. My intermediate goal is to work up to 10 miles, and my final goal is to work on my speed. I’d like to start my half-marathon training running 10 minute miles. I know I have a long way to go before all 3 of my goals…but that’s what they’re there for, right?

If you run, any tips for me on increasing my speed? What’s your favorite distance to run…or are you the type that doesn’t run unless you are chased?

Once again, this weekend has flown by…hope you had a lovely one! I sure did. ‘Twas a weekend to remember.

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