10K Race Report....and a great start to my birthday

First of all, I have give myself HUGE credit for having the strength to complete the 10K yesterday. I had a few things going against me (a painful inner ear infection and horrible work schedule to train), but I was able to overcome the odds.

When I woke up on Sunday, I totally freaked out because it was only 39 degrees. Oh SHIT! My thoughts went straight to my memories of P.F. Chang's this past January where it was really cold. I was SO scared to run this 10K, but there was no stopping me now. The night before the race I had a great carb load dinner consisting of pan fry-lite polenta in a basil pesto sauce (the store bought stuff!) I added the Vicodin that the ER doc at the hospital that I work at gave me for the ear infection (gotta love a great doc who gives the great drugs) and turned in MUCH earlier than I usually do - I was OUT like a light and slept GREAT until my alarm woke me up at 7 am (and my bladder at 3 am too).

Once I woke up, I got dressed and quickly ate a PB on a toasted bagel with a 20 oz bottle of Powerade for my pre-race meal. Then Josh and I walked in the cold to the corner of Argyle and Broadway to catch a cab to near Montrose Harbor where the Treat or Treat Trot started. Josh and I saw a lot of people in costumes. Some very funny costumes. Some very unique costumes. Some very odd ones too. We had to keep walking around in order to keep warm after we got my race chip from the officials. Some spots were ok. Any shade was a big no-no. Sun was where it was at.

Then it was time to assemble at the starting corral. Josh gave a few good luck kisses and told me that he would meet me along the course to be my rabbit for part of the race. Before I start get nervous, we were off.

During the first mile, I was a little bit tight in my calves because of the cold, but did not take long to warm up. Once I hit the 2nd mile, I saw Josh, who joined me up until we passed the golf course and hit the edge of the tennis course near mile 3.5. I kept a very comfortable and steady pace. I did not feel like I was struggling at all. By the time I made it to mile 4, I knew that I could finish and picked up the pace a little bit. I found Josh again just before I made it to mile 5 and he ran with me until the finish. There was a total of 4 water stops during the 10K, which I was very impressed about.

As I ran the last 0.2 mile, I pushed very, very hard and was encouraged at the end by a few of finishers to keep going until the end. The effort and efficient pacing paid off. I finished at 1:02:36. I was sad to not finish under 1 hour - just shy by 2 minutes - but very satisfied with the end result. I then made my way through the post-race food line. I grabbed some Gatorade, banana, and some Halloween candy (I deserved the Hershey's Dark Chocolate - HELL YEAH!). Then I found Josh and slowly made our way to the Athletico tent to get stretched very, very good.

Mile 1 - 10:09
Mile 2 - 10:10
Mile 3 - 10:07
Mile 4 - 10:03
Mile 5 - 10:03
Mile 6 - 9:42
0.2 Mile - 2:19

After getting stretched and sticking around for the raffle, we walked towards home and stopped for some yummy dim sum for a post-race treat. I was craving it so badly and knew that it was what I wanted after running a 10K. The food was great as always. After brunch, we walked home to clean up and then take a well-deserved nap. We ended up spending the rest of the evening on the couch relaxing since I was still slightly under the weather.

After a very rough day at work, I hit the gym to burn off some steam. When I came home, Josh told me that my birthday gift (my birthday is not until next Thursday!) arrived early and gave me the option to open it. At first I wanted to wait, but he insisted that I open it because it will come in handy for our upcoming trip back to MN. I then closed my eyes and held my hand out. Josh then hands a slightly medium sized box. I then open the card that came with the gift.

When I opened the card, it read: "To my darling Denise, here is something to help with your next round of marathon training. (Hint: It's not a knee strap or roll of kineso tape.) Love, Joshua." When I opened the box, I was shocked to see a beautiful red iPod nano inside. Josh then insisted that I flip the iPod over where he had inscribed a message on the back of it: "To my darling Denise. Love, Joshua."

I then became overwhelmed with emotion from the events that happened today and then the total surprise from Josh. A lot has changed since my last birthday and so very thankful for these positive changes in my life. I am looking forward to a wonderful birthday coming up. I am also looking forward to the upcoming vacation starting on Friday. It will be something that I will enjoy fully.