Eye of the "Tiger"

Lalala...today is one of those days. Don't want to get into details as to why, but...let's just say it was hard.

This weekend, however, was great!

Did a "brisk" 10-miler on Saturday, and felt very good during it, even at the end (although really, who ever feels excellent at the end?).  First half - 59 minutes; second half - 56 minutes for a total of 1 hr 55 minutes.  That's good!  (Of course, it would have been harder to keep up that pace for another two or three hours! But still.)  One minor setback was that one of the water fountains I have come to rely on in the park was shut off!  BOOO!  At least I still had one, or else there would have been trouble.  It's crazy how much longer you can go in chilly weather though...I (almost) wasn't even that thirsty.

Then on to Sunday.  I had had a conversation with myself that went something like this.

Me: Should I do this Pumpkin 5k tomorrow?
Self: Why not?
Me: Well, I just ran 10 miles today.  What about that "no race and long run in the same weekend" rule?
Self: But 10 isn't really "long" anymore.  Remember you just ran 20 a couple weeks ago!  10 is like a walk in the park.
Me: I wouldn't exactly say that.  But I see your point.
Self: I thought you would.
Me: Should I run this 5k all-out, or what?
Self: Well, you can and you won't have to worry, but I know you, and you'll worry anyway.  So maybe run it at 75-80% of your 5k pace.  So you can relax, ya worrywart.
Me: Yeah, you're right.  Plus, I read recently on a running discussion board that running your best 5k two weeks before the marathon is kind of a bad sign.  You want to still be fatigued from training, and have been doing marathon-specific workouts, accounting for a slower time.
Self: I guess we are both super running nerds.
Me: Glad we had this conversation.

ANYWAY.  So yes, I did the Great Pumpkin Run on Sunday, and it was...great!  Many people were in costume, and it was a lot of fun.  They had good food at the finish, including yummy bagels, apples, bananas, and a bake sale (which I did not partake of).

I think that I ran a really good race.  I listened to my, uh..."self," and ran it almost all-out but not quite.  I especially held back in the beginning but was pleased to note that I passed TONS of runners in this race, including Wonder Woman and, of course, a Tiger!  Didn't run my best time, but still broke 30 again!!!!

And to think, my pre-race dinner the night before was none other than a Wendy's burger and fries (Derek and I went to see Kelly Clarkson (!) on Saturday night and stopped for fast food on the way home...ohhh how deliciously evil.)

Here are the splits:

Mile 1 - 10:09

Mile 2 - 9:34

Mile 3 - 9:00

last .12 - 00:51 (woulda been faster if the chute hadn't been so small...had to slow down a lot towards the finish because there were 3 girls running RIGHT ahead of me and we couldn't all fit in the chute at the same time!  Guess that only happens once in awhile.)

Finishing time: 29:36.

I love how my splits get progressively faster by 30 seconds each mile!  Yay!  And I was thinking during the last mile especially what a difference a couple of months makes.  This race had the same exact course as the Patrick Joyce Scholarship 5k in August, and the brutal heat & humidity in that race were awful!  That last flat mile seemed to take forever last time with the sun beating down...and yesterday, with the streets all shaded and the cool breeze...it felt almost pleasant.

Also, got my bib info today!!!  Will be in the green start, and the third wave.  Can't wait to see everyone there cheering!!