Lilac Festival 10k Race Recap

Have you ever registered for a race at 2 am when you couldn't sleep?  Admit it...  you can't sleep, you get bored staring at the ceiling and you start googling local races.  

No????  It's Just me???

Okay then.  Well about a month ago I was bored and up way too late and I thought a 10k sounded fun.  I hadn't run one in a long time and the timing worked.  So I registered for myself and Rob.  Bonus, there was a 5K at the same location and so I decided to get Danger and Miss Maddy signed up too!  For Danger it would be his first REAL race without his Dad or Me and it would be Maddy's first race.  

HOW MUCH FUN IS THAT???  

Race morning came and I was a bit nervous about my fuel plan.  Not eating grains has really messed up my carb loading and my pre-race fueling as well!  Although I had discussed with my traner the how and why of fueling differently, and I understood the logic of the plan, it is always super scary to try something new on race day!  I woke up later than planned and getting 4 runners out of the house takes a lot longer than 1 or 2 and my meal prep time was cut to nearly zero!  I tossed a sweet potato in the microwave and threw the idea of sweet potato protein pancakes out the window :(  I've been working on a recipe since then and as soon as I perfect it I plan to share it!  Anyway...  I took my sweet potato in the car and ate it on the way.  It was already warming up and I was a tiny bit concerned with the humidity and the pollen count.  Heading to the lilac festival can be overwhelming for anyone but I am pretty allergic to most flowers so it is always an experience when I head into a huge area filled with them!  

We got to the race a little before the 5k started and got the kiddos all lined up.  I made them take a picture which they were both thrilled about.  

These are their humoring me faces!

After they got off, Rob and I had time to kill.  The 30 minutes came and went fairly quick and we knew Danger was planning on a finish right at the half hour mark or slightly before.  He hasn't been running regularly this spring so he didn't think he would PR this time around and we had agreed he would stay with Maddy unless she started walking.  He had his phone and even stopped to text me that he was leaving her and headed toward the finish by himself.  Somewhere along the way he found a neighbor of ours and he ended up finishing the race with her.  She said he pushed her to run harder and that he was a great running partner.  I'm always a proud Mama but I love hearing how motivating and easy going he is!

I love the look on his face!!  Major kudos to my neighbor Val who PR'ed her second 5K and is in the pink hat!!

Once Miss Maddy crossed the finish a few minutes later they recapped the course for us.  Basically the 5k was the first and last 1.5 of the 10k and they reported that it was insanely hilly and ridiculously hot and humid.  I wasn't all that concerned with the heat and humidity since I was well hydrated and properly dressed for a change! 

You know they were stoked for another picture right?

When we headed off I forced myself to go out slow and run the first half of the race at 10 minute miles.  My plan was to just stay at the 10 minute pace and enjoy it.  I knew the hills at the end were going to be tough and I thought if I paced a bit slower than I usually take off I would be okay.  I made a new friend and we stuck together for the entire race.  I must confess that once we hit the last 2 miles her company forced me to keep running.

Obviously Danger and I went to the same face making class!

Right before mile 4 I started to feel a bit tired and my guess was that the combination of having JUST a sweet potato for breakfast and the humidity draining me far more than usual.  Right about the same time we started creeping up a gradual incline.  This incline continued with little or no relief foe the next 2 miles.  The entire last third of the race was up a gradually increasing incline.  With a half mile to go and my calves and quads burning I started to pick the pace back up.  I had slowed to 11 plus minute miles as we trucked up the never ending hills.  I came across the finish line 4 and a half minutes faster than my previous best at 1:07:30 which was slower than I had hoped but still a huge PR. 

Thankfully Maddy was at the finish to take pictures for me!  Rob forgot!

After the race we rushed home to get Danger off to a birthday party and I headed i  to work.  With the super hot weather we were having, I would have much preferred to stay home and enjoy the day but such is life!  I actually really enjoyed this race (enjoyed might be overstating it if we are talking about the hills) and we plan to race it again next year!!!