I have been dying to do the Wicked 10k in Virginia Beach for quite some time. J&A racing puts on five races a year (all being themed and I love dressing up). So when the possibility of being able to run this race rose up, I immediately took it. Then I realized that since it was a week before the marathon it would be a perfect last high effort run (or really only high effort run). Though it’s a solid minute per mile faster than my marathon goal pace…I think the marathon is a little longer…
A local runner, Kris and I decided to dress up as pumpkins. It would be a dirty lie if I didn’t tell you that Kris has always been one of my running idols since she moved to VA.
We warmed up around the Convention center and it honestly went by really quickly. As much as I love running with Tim, it’s not the same as running with females and gossiping. We quickly made it back and put our stuff away in the car. Since it was a 10,000 person 10k the lines for the bathroom were so long. We quickly went to the porta potty and hauled butt to the starting line.
When the race went off, I immediately fell into my groove. I wasn’t sure how my skirt would hold up or if the socks would give me blisters but in proper running technique, I didn’t test any beforehand and just winged it. If I got massive blisters on my feet before the marathon…that would have been my fault and I probably would have stopped to take the socks off.
The first mile I felt I was in a solid groove. It was pretty crowded and I got boxed in several times but I managed to pass a few females and settle in by myself. I was weaving a lot during this first mile and with the turns I managed to take out every turn way to wide. (5:52)
The second mile went right down where I got hit by the cyclist and onto the boardwalk. The point of interest was the creepy construction workers who had stopped working and decided to yell at the males running near me, “damn I wish I was chasing that”. To that I yelled, excuse me sir I’m only 16. When I stop getting ID for lotto tickets I’ll stop using that phrase. (6:10)
Mile three was along the boardwalk and I was all alone. The closest person in front of me was a female (about a quarter of a mile up). I wanted to catch her so badly, but couldn’t and never did. (6:14).
I hit the 5k at exactly 19:30.
Mile four I drew on the crowds from other corrals passing the other way. It kept my mind off running and I was high fiven’, cheering and looking at other people passing the other way. I wanted to speed up but my legs would not turn over any faster. This is just a product of not doing speed workouts and focusing on longer runs as well as high mileage. (6:14)
Mile five was exactly the same way but there was no one cheering and I was all by myself. I was passed by some males somewhere along there and I tried to keep up but they powered way by me. This was the hardest mile mentally but just kept reminding myself…that’s probably how I’ll feel for 10 miles in the marathon. (6:30)
Mile 6 was motivating because we were heading back to the convention center and it was almost over. I didn’t feel like I was dying but I certainly wasn’t getting any faster. I just gave it everything I had and went to the end. (6:14).
The final .4, you could see the finish line. I hate those finishes because they never seem like they are getting any closer and there are people at the .4 telling you that you are almost there…when in reality you still have 2-3 more minutes. In my mind, “almost there” means I have about 5 strides to the finish line…not 2 more minutes going into cardiac arrest. Then after a few minutes (but not before being outkicked by someone), I crossed the finish line, begged for some water, coffee mug and medal and headed into the post race party with Kris.
Thoughts on the race:
This was a great confidence booster going into the marathon. I had made the executive decision throughout training to forgo speed workouts and focus on building high mileage instead. Since it is my first marathon and my goal is to FINISH (with a secondary goal around 3:10), I took away all speed and just focused on high mileage. It was great to only be 8 seconds off my 10k PR without any speed and not feeling the greatest. The weather was beautiful and it was a flat, fast course so I cannot complain about that. Overall it was a great race and I had a lot of fun. I was 4th female overall and Kris got first! It’s also a minute faster then last month’s Zero Prostate Cancer Run (and 40 degrees cooler!)
Questions for you:
Do you like themed races?
What are your plans for Halloween?
Mine are to whine and complain that I have to wait till Sunday to eat all the candy.
