St. Patty's 10k Race Report...first 10k post pregnancy!

I wasn't sure what to expect with my 10k this past Saturday--I really didn't know what kind of pace I could manage or what my legs/lungs would do, so I decided to just go out there and run til it hurt (but not so hard that I couldn't sustain the pace).  I decided to try to just shut off my brain and really try to just focus on running and nothing else.  Sometimes when I run my mind wanders to:  "how's Soren? I wonder what we're having for dinner since I didn't get to the grocery store, I wonder if Dave will sleep this weekend on call, we need to go to the beach since our time in San Diego is running out, I really need to make some more baby food it's sad Soren has only eaten one veggie since I haven't figured out how to make others.."    None of that, just this: "how are legs: good, pace: good, breathing, faster turnover, push, see that girl ahead she's wearing high tops....she's toast". 

I had a whole plan: I was going to wake up, feed Soren, stretch, eat my breakfast and get to the race early to warm up.  Seriously, in the past i've been really good about my plans and i've been able to stick with them...well, with a little one you just never know how the morning is going to go--namely because i'm still nursing and I need to decide at the last minute whether Soren will get a bottle, or will I nurse and if I don't feed him, I have to pump (especially before a race!).

What actually happened:  6:00 alarm went off, I went to eat breakfast, got dressed...still no Soren. Finally by 6:30, I began to defrost milk for him because I knew I wouldn't have time to feed him and so Dave could give him a bottle.  So, the 5 1/2 ounces of milk were defrosting and then I hear him talking.  NOOOOOOO! I hate wasting a bottle if I can feed him myself, I prefer to use bottles if we have a babysitter or Dave is with him for long periods of time...it's difficult for me to "keep a supply" these days, so I hate wasting milk!  So-I fed Soren, threw the bottle in the diaper bag and we were off.  We got to the race at 7:10.  Not exactly time for a warm up....but, I did warm up for about 10 minutes, definitely enough to get "warm" and shed that layer and the best part of all was, I found an UNCROWDED bathroom.  Awesome, took care of business and I was all set.

I didn't see anyone I knew at the starting line which was a relief, I really wanted to just RUN and sometimes my chattiness gets the better of me!

We started and right away I was off and running.....I felt a little tired but definitely able to keep up with some faster people in front of me and eventually I settled into a 7:45-8:00 minute pace.  Not bad....the last time I ran this 10K I ran a 47:14.....so, I knew I wasn't going to finish around that time, but honestly for being seven months post-partum, I was just stoked to be running IN the "7:00's" of any kind!

Around mile 4 the guy next to me said: you can do it, go faster....he was older and I laughed and sputtered out: I'm barely hanging on here!  He said "I'm 66, you can go faster," I said "I just had a baby 7 months ago, I'm working on speed!".....we ran for a few minutes and he dropped back and it was right around then I got the "ohhh, I don't feel so good," feeling.  I thought I was going to throw up, but the odd thing is, my legs felt fine and while my effort felt REALLY hard, I didn't think I was spinning out of control.

Enter Ironman thoughts:  "you did an Ironman, you can certainly HTFU for the last 2.2 miles..seriously Meredith, suck it up.....it's just around the corner and back past the Hilton and you're DONE."

So...I actually listened to myself....but mile 5-6 wasn't pretty, I was really really wanting the race to be done, but I pushed harder and the coolest thing was, Dave and his mom almost missed me because Dave said "Um, well, we didn't expect you to come QUITE that quickly!!" =0.  I saw the finish and this guy....literally edged me out of the way? Seriously--edging people out of the way in general is an "ass move," but in a local 10k? Really?? I wanted to say "ok, weekend warrior, calm down," but I was too far exhausted to even utter a thought so my eyes did the staring.  I had nothing left to sprint the finish and I can't remember the last time I couldn't sprint a finish, even in Ironman I had a little left.  No dice for this 10k though---I just kept my pace and crossed!!

Final stats: finished in 50:05: 8:04/mile.....super super happy!! 

Tested out some AWESOME Saucony pieces that i'll be buying MORE of: Check these out, they're SUPER light and i've been wanting a lighter short for a while without going "shorter" =0

Saucony: Elite Split Short

Saucony: Hydrator Short Sleeve--Perfectly fitted but not too cumbersome and absolutely no chafing.....awesome shirt!!!