What happened here?

Well, it has been nearly a week, so I guess it is about time to update my blog about the DRC 5K.

We decided to run the 5K instead of the 10K because we knew we had the Cowtown 1/2 coming up soon. Also, Cotton has class on Saturday and needed to get to school to study ahead of time.

Cotton came over about 6:00 A.M. and we headed on out to the lake. We got there early enought to get a pretty decent parking spot, and walked on up to the clubhouse. I wasn't feeling real well, was having some minor stomach issues, and had already told Rick I wasn't so sure I was going to make my goal of a sub 30 minute 5K. I've been trying to get back down there for nearly 2 years now and it is very frustrating!

We picked up our bibs and stood in the warm clubhouse for a bit, then went back to the car so Cotton could warm up. Rick went ahead and warmed up too, but I just sat in the car and rested until it was time to go on down the hill for the start. We took off the warm-up gear and walked to the start line. As I stood there shivering we got to say Hello to Mary Chupps, Cotton's 1st grade teacher. She was excited that Cotton was there and said she was hoping to get to see him after the race, but that she was just walking this one. She is recovering from a knee injury now.

After all the "cerimonial" stuff, the gun went off and we started. I hit the start on my Garmin as I went over the start line and I was off. The first mile felt amazingly good. It was only about 48 degrees outside, and I guess the cold must agree with me because I ran this mile at a 9:11 pace! That is 27:95 faster than my normal pace! I don't think I've ever run the first mile of ANY race at a 9:11 pace! I was feeling good at the mile marker, so I just kept pushing it. I knew if I could run the first two miles in under 10 minute miles I had a pretty good chance to meet my goal of under 30 minutes for the entire race...so I just kept pushing. Mile 2 was only slightly slower at 9:37. This put the first two mile time at 18:49. I was astonished. I still felt pretty good so I just kept going. I did really well until about 2.25 miles...then I felt myself slowing down a bit. I tried to talk myself through it and kept pushing every time I looked down and saw that my time was slipping. I did the mile in 9:49 for a 28:38 time for the 3 miles. I only had .1 mile to go...and over a minute to do it in.... When I look at the Garmin time for the entire 3.1 miles that a 5K is supposed to be it shows me finishing at 29:32 - I KNOW when I crossed the finish line, as I was hitting the stop timer button it read 29:59...so I KNOW I "unofficially" ran it in under 30 minutes...my goal. The DRC races are not chip timed however, and my official time was 30:08.

Cotton and Rick were right there at the finish line cheering me on. As I got close I tried to kick it out and I passed the girl ahead of me, but I started my kick too soon and couldn't keep up the pace, so she passed me back and finished just ahead of me.

We went on up to the clubhouse to get a banana and wait for the results. When the preliminary results were posted Cotton and I went over to check out how we did. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw that I finished FIRST in my age group!!!! I walked back over to Rick and told them, and Cotton told me he had finished third in is his! We would both get medals.

We waited and waited for the results to become official. Finally 1 and 1/2 hours after the finish fo the race they gave out the awards. Cotton picked up his 3rd place medal and I picked up my 1st place medal. It was a GREAT day for the Boales family. Cotton had a PR with a time of 20:15:93...he is about to break the 20 minute mark - he had a pace of 6:31 minute miles. Rick had a PR of 27:46 and 8:47 minute miles. He finished 7th in his age group. I didn't PR, but I did finish first with a time of 30:08:39. HOWEVER; Sunday when we were checking the official results, Rick's time had changed, and I was now listed in SECOND place!

Hmmmmmm I have the first place medal - I was first for an hour and a half - how DID this happen. Here is my theory; The number for the girl who is now listed in first place is 1199...this matches all the numbers for the 15K race. I believe she signed up for the 15K, changed her mind and ran the 5K....this, according to what was published earlier should have disqualified her from any medal....however, I did contact the club and I am returning the medal I got, and they are sending me a second place. I'm still happy with my time, and the 9:41 overall pace I ran. It is the fastest in a long, long time...she only beat me by 15 seconds...I'll just have to get her next time! LOL!!!

DRC 10K today!

***** Update *****

We got the official results. Cotton finished 7th in his age group with a clock time of 44:10:53 (a 7:06 pace). Rick finished 9th in his age group with a clock time of 59:03:36 a 9:30 pace). I finished 3rd in my age group with a clock time of 1:04:10 (a 10:19 pace) ... I was totally shocked to learn that I placed in the top 3! Another big WHOO-HOO!

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Well, we made it. Last night I set my goal to do better than my average 10K time of 1:06 - 1:07. I even discussed it (made it public) with Rick beforehand so he would know what I was attempting.

We got up about 5:00 AM and got ready - we drove by and picked up Cotton and we were on our way to the race. After a little confusion (the notes on where to park referenced a "new clubhouse") we determined that it was the same clubhouse we have been using for the entire year we have been members of the DRC. No problem - we got there, got our bibs and completed our pre-race "stuff" in plenty of time to relax before the start.

They called us to the start line at 7:45 and we all walked down the hill and gathered for the moment of silence, the national anthem and the start of the race. It was pretty cold - I hate standing in the cold, but I always run better in it! Once they said go we were off in no time!

The first mile felt really good - even if it WAS cold...I ran that in 9:42, and couldn't believe I had a sub 10:00 mile under my belt and could still breathe! Mile 2 was still feeling good - although when I hit the turn around for the 5K I was sure wishing I could turn around too! Finished that mile at a 9:40 pace...all I could think was whoo-hoo!!! Now I was REALLY wishing for a 5K - I think I could have broken my 30 minute barrier today!!! Oh well, there is always next time. Mile 3 is where you hit the long uphill...I still ran that one in 10:16 for a 3 mile time of 29:39, needless to say I was already happy with this run!

Now we were on the back side of the 10K...almost 1/2 way and still running uphill. I completed mile 4 with a 10:24 pace, I wasn't unhappy with this because of all the uphill running and it put me a 40:03 for 4 miles which is right at a 10:00 pace - better than I have done since the Human Race in October!

Mile 5 included the uphill of the spillway. This is a fairly steep grade and I ALMOST made it to the top...my legs gave out about 3/4 of the way to the top, so I went ahead and walked to the top and then started running again. I completed mile 5 at a 10:35 pace...wish I could say I didn't have to walk, but it is what it is....

Mile 6 I was really feeling it. I was tired, my thighs were on fire, and I wanted to just stop and walk soooooo bad! I knew I could finish this thing though - and I wasn't going to walk on a flat! So....mile 6 pace: 10:37...my slowest mile - but I ran every step!

Cotton and Rick caught me just after the 6 mile mark when I had less than 1/4 of a mile to go...it was so good to see them cheering me on! I finished the last .28 miles in 2:40 (9:39 pace) for an overall Garmin time of 1:03:58. Not a PR, but my second best time ever! (My best was the Human Race with a 1:02:21 - another unofficial Garmin time!) I feel pretty good about that time since it hasn't even been a month since our marathon. Not a bad "recovery race" at all!

We are still waiting for our official results to be posted - I will update when we know something. The main thing for me for this race was that I set the goal to beat the 1:06 - 1:07 average I have been running - and even with a slower clock time (which will be the official time) I managed to do that!

Day one, goal one - DONE!

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!

Today was a MAJOR learning experience - AGAIN! I am thinking that this is how it will be for me always. I don't think I will ever really know it all, and each race brings different trials. Today was a real test for me for many reasons - but let me start at the beginning.

I really had high hopes when I woke up this morning since I had such a good race last week with my 10K. We were up at 4:45 to get ready. We decided to use the DART train this year because of the parking situation at the race. Cotton came over and we rode together. We got to the race in plenty of time, but I needed to find the "break" area quickly. This is my normal habit - the problem this time was that we walked through a lot of grass on our way, and our feet got SOAKED! OK....lesson #1...pack dry socks! We took our break and then headed to the bag tent to store our bags with our warm-ups and after race "stuff". Once again this year we saw our dear friend Mary...she was Cotton's first grade teacher and she was so excited that he was with us this year. She couldn't believe how much he had changed - of course she hadn't seen him since he was in about the 3rd grade or so...she was really surprised at how tall he had gotten!

We went on over to the start line and Cotton went on up much closer to the front - we headed toward the middle. We warmed up and I re-did my shoes because my socks were slipping down and bunching up under my arches. I tightened the laces much more than I usually do - Lesson #2....the race is NOT the time to make changes in how you fix your shoes! The start was only slightly delayed due to some kind of technical problem with the timing mat, but only by a couple of minutes. The horn sounded and we were off......deep breath - and go!

The first 3 miles were really good. Felt good - had to keep slowing Rick down! We ran the splits in 9:54, 9:42, and 9:40. This gave us a time of 29:17 at the 3 mile mark. I was quite happy with that. The next 3 miles were almost as good - but part of this part of the race is run through a few of the neighborhoods around the lake and it feels like all of a sudden out of nowhere come these NEVER ENDING HILLS! Our splits here started to show how much of a toll these hills were taking.... 10:35, 10:54, and 10:47. I struggled more through here than I thought I would too, but still posted a 6 mile time of 1:01:34 - so right on pace for what we ran the week before in our 10K. This was actually about 4 minutes faster than last year and I was feeling better by then so I was quite pleased with the race up to this point.

We were still in the hills and mile 7 was run at an 11:04 pace. More than the hill though I was beginning to have some stomach problems. It actually started somewhere around mile 6, but it was really getting bad now. This has not ever happened to me before. I get up and run with very few problems, so this was quite the surprise. At 7.5 miles I finally knew I HAD to stop. We passed the water table and one of the gentlemen was kindly pointing out that there was a porta-potty just around the corner for the "inopportune" stops that some runners need. I rushed through the water stop and ran to the the other stop. This stop actually cost us close to 3 minutes....I was sooooo bummed! We did figure out that we had eaten dinner much later - AND it was a much heavier dinner than normal - I'm pretty sure that is what caused the problems I had, and we have determined that if we go out for dinner the night before a race from now on it will the the traditional spaghetti only! Lesson # 3.

After the stop I felt a little better and we were off again. During mile 8 I paid the price for the change in the way I tied my shoes. I started feeling hot spots on my arches at about 8.5 miles. Not painful, but not comfortable either. Incredibly, even with the stop we ran mile 8 in 10:38...(thank heavens for a few downhills here :) ). Mile 9 was where I was worried, this is where I pretty much hit the wall last year - this year I was feeling good other than the hot spots on my feet. Mile 9 split - 11:19 - and NO walking! We completed the 9 miles in 1:34:37. Our normal time around the lake (9.1 miles) is 1:37, so when you add in the "missing" minutes from the stop earlier we were still right on schedule.

The last 4 miles were not at all what I had anticipated. My feet were really starting to hurt but I was determined I wasn't going to let Rick know, I was going to just push through the pain and go. I did pretty good until mile 11 or so. We went through a water stop where, as planned, I slowed to a walk, but when I tried to run again it was so painful I couldn't. I told Rick about the blisters that had formed on my arches and he said it was OK to walk. We did for just a little bit and then I knew I would just be so angry at myself if I gave up at this point so I just kicked it back and ran again. Our splits here were: Mile 10 - 11:28, Mile 11 - 12:02, Mile 12 - 11:54. Somewhere in the last mile - I'm not sure of the exact distance we had left - slightly over .5 miles, Cotton found us and cheered us in. He was AWESOME. He had already completed the race and came back to help us during that last part. It was just what we needed! Mile 13 was completed in 11:56. Now at this point we should have only had .1 miles to go - but for some reason it always seems that at every race we run the finish is a little farther than the distance it is supposed to be. This one had .36 left. We ran that in 3.58...This gave us a Garmin time of 2:25:57 - that would have been a major PR for me....I do have to mention here that Rick stayed with me for the entire race this year - so even if I had kept the 2:25 it would not have been a PR for him...but it was GREAT having him right there with me every step of the way this year - even more so since I was feeling so bad through the entire last half of the race.

The "ugly" part of the race came after the finish. We went to pick up our bag at the tent, stopping for water along the way. I had nearly finished my water and tipped my head back to get the last little bit. When I finished the drink I felt a bit woozy, grabbed Rick's arm, and down I went! Passed right out! THIS has never happened to me before either! There was a Dr. standing right there and he stayed right with me until I was able to stand up and walk over to the tent where they got me a chair to sit down on. We waited for Cotton and by the time he found us I was feeling a little better. Rick and Cotton decided to go ahead and walk me to the medical tent and they found me a cot to sit down on and got me some more water. It was determined that because of the problems I had during the race I had lost more fluids than I normally would, and hadn't taken in enough to replace what I lost...between that and burning a lot of calories and not taking in enough of those either I just got a little light headed. I drank some more water and then we headed over the the food tent to get some much needed nourishment. After getting a little food in my tummy I felt MUCH better. Lesson #4...there is a reason that marathoners and 1/2 marathoners carry more than just GU with them during a race - next time I'll have some "real" food with me too!

Now for the official results. The clock time was 2:29:37. The official time this year was 2:28:08 where last year was 2:26:21, so I did not beat that time this year....ah, well....many lessons learned and there is always NEXT year!