Home Run 10k

This morning I participated in the Hangover...err...Home Run 10k at Bernheim Forest which benefitted a local charity called Home of the Innocents.

The night before a race, most people would probably eat dinner, drink lots of fluids, and get to bed at a decent hour. They would wake up via alarm clock and have a nutritious breakfast and plenty of fluids. That would be the smart thing to do, right?

My night didn't really go like that. This morning I fortunately woke up on my own albeit being over 30 minutes later than I wanted to wake up. I fumbled for my clothes, drank water (?), grabbed a piece of bread, and walked out the door to meet my friend who drove us to the race. Bernheim is a thirty minute trip away so I had some time to wake up and hydrate a bit.

So what I'm trying to say is that it wasn't my best race, but I'm actually really pleased with my performance. I felt pretty good during the run and especially for the last 2-3 miles. The race was on paved roads as opposed to a trail, which was fine, although it was still a bit close-knit, especially in the beginning. I was so focused on my running and not running into other people so I didn't get to focus on the scenery as much as I wanted to. The course took us around two big loops, through the starting area, down a road (the road I thought would take me to Guerilla Hollow on my run there last week), and then a turnaround and back down that same road to the finish. With Bernheim being such a large area, I'm surprised that they didn't spread the run out more instead of making us run loops.

My friend ended up finishing before me by 30-45 seconds or so (she was smart and had a good night's sleep), but we ran most of the race together.

Stats:
Total time: 1:01:10
Average Pace: 9:59
Mile 1: 10:29
Mile 2: 10:21
Mile 3: 10:02
Mile 4: 10:14
Mile 5: 9:53
Mile 6: 9:00 (gotta finish strong!!)

It's so weird to think that I ran for over an hour. The race didn't seem that long!

My appetite hasn't been through the roof like it normally is after races. I had a big bowl of a chicken/bean/couscous dish made by my mother post race, and I just had a granola bar and an apple. I'm sure I'll be heading to the kitchen in a couple of hours though.

Tonight, I'm gonna get a good night's sleep.