How about a little race recap almost 2 weeks after the race? Whoops.
So, Tyler Arboretum. I was so not prepared for this. I'm thinking Heck yes I can knock out a 10K, no problem! However, my little pea brain was thinking about a 10K on flat ground, or even a slight incline. This knocked me out.
I told myself going into this that I had three main goals:
1. Run the entire thing.
2. Finish in under an hour and a half.
3. Not finish last.
I started out the first leg, feeling pretty good, trying to keep my breath steady and my legs moving. I was mostly trying to focus on the ground in front of me, watching my footing, and ignoring the crowd thinning out around me. It had rained a few days before, so I was doing my best to not be the obnoxious runner weaving in front of people, but I wanted to keep my feet as dry as possible, so I decided that obnoxious or not, I might have to weave. Less than a mile in, I hit the first stream crossing, which bottle-necked BIG time. Crossed the stream and started uphill, only to see everyone stopping and walking. The uphill section was massive and steep. I was so pissed at myself because I didn't want to walk in the worst of ways. I looked at the girl next to me and said, "I told myself I wouldn't walk." She said, "There's no way to run this, you have to." So, once I hit the top of that first incline, I told myself that I would walk the other steep parts so I could finish strong.
I struggled until mile 2, then I got my strength back. When I hit mile 3, I asked someone what the time was at and she said we were hitting 40 minutes. I realized that I was going to have to hustle if I was going to finish this thing in time. I took off on the downhills, passing people as much as I could and saving as much time as I could. I tried to make big strides on the uphills and run as soon as I hit the crest. I saw Laura around mile 4 and wanted to catch up, but I didn't have it in me to try to sprint uphill.
Mile 5 I had a woman pass me, then I passed her, then she passed me, then I passed her... then she passed me again right after mile 6 and I had no ambition to try to pass her again, I was just focused on finishing. Of course the stupid finish line was at the top of a hill, so I pushed myself through, finishing my first 10K in 1 hour and 19 minutes and NOT coming in last. Woohoo!
It was a great trail, but I wasn't prepared for it. And by "it," I mean the terrain itself, as well as the hills. But I am so proud of myself that I finished and made all of my goals. :)
Can't wait for the next one!