Today’s the big day. I tried to keep myself calm throughout the night and managed to get a pretty decent night sleep and since the heater was working and I was nice and warm I didn’t shiver nearly as much as I usually do the night before a race. I got up at around 9:30, looked outside, saw that it had been raining and that most of the snow was melted (yahoo!) and started eating breakfast. The night before we had gone to the supermarket and got some provisions for the morning, a box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, a bunch of bananas, and some gatorade. It was nice to be able to eat exactly what I wanted without having to count on a buffet to have the necessary pre-race foods.
After breakfast, I got dressed and put a whole bunch of extra clothing in my backpack. I put my smelly spikes with their huge 3/8″ and 1/2″ spikes (courtesy of Club NW, thank you very much, Carl!) in a plastic bag in my backpack. I figured with all the rain that melted the snow, the course was bound to be a mud pit and I would want that plastic bag after the race to store my mud-caked spikes! In a moment of clarity, I had an epiphany to bring an extra roll of toilet paper to the meet just in case the port-a-potties ran out. Afterall, we were the fourth race of the day. We left for the course at about 11:20 and got to Voice of America park around 11:30, just in time for John to watch the masters men’s race.
The rest of us sat in the van for about fifteen minutes and then hit the bathroom. I, of course, brought my toilet paper, and it was a darn good thing because wouldn’t you know it, the port-a-potty was out. Hooray for toilet paper! After the bathroom we went back to the van and started to warm-up. We jogged along the pavement trying to avoid running in the mud for as long as possible since we would spend the entire race in one giant mud puddle! I warmed-up for about fifteen minutes and my legs felt a bit heavy. I decided not to think about it and went over and started stretching. After another trip to another port-a-potty that didn’t have any toilet paper either, I went back to the van, put on my spikes, and made my way over to the starting line. After about four strides the starter called us over, I took off my sweats, and I got on the line.
The race went pretty well. I started out with some of my teammates and was actually able to run with one of them for most of the race. It is so great to have your teammate right there with you. The first mile seemed to go pretty well, I didn’t see the mile marker, but I don’t feel like I went out too fast or anything. During the second mile I passed a few people, always a good sign, and tried to stay with this girl in a yellow top and blue shorts. I passed her at one point, but then she passed me back heading into the finish. My time at the two mile mark was pretty good for me, but then between miles two and three I started to slow down. When I got to the third mile marker I thought, “oh wouldn’t it be nice if this were a 5K instead of a 6K,” but I told myself to be quiet and just keep running! I finished about 40 seconds faster than I thought I would, so overall, I would say that I had a pretty darn good race! Here’s a picture of me finishing, kick it in!
This was definitely my best 6K in a long time and now it was done, yippee! What a relief to have that off my mind.
Although I was pretty nervous going into the race, I was really proud that I didn’t let myself get too worked up or over anxious. I know that i do so much better when I can keep those nerves under control, and this race was just further proof of that. After the race I talked to a few more people that I knew from college and watched the men’s open race. Their race certainly had the worst conditions of the races. Since they were the fifth race of the day, they were really running in a complete mud pit! At the end of their race it looked like every finisher had sat, laid down, or rolled around in a mud pit, it was crazy!
After the races, we went back to Panera and just sat in front of the fire for a while trying to get warm. A whole bunch of teams were there, so we were just sitting around talking. It was pretty fun. Then we went back to the hotel and tried to uncake the mud from our bodies! There were a few reports of clogged drains, but fortunately, ours was not one of them! After showering we went to the awards ceremony, but we couldn’t hear or see a thing from where we were, so we left and we to an Irish pub for dinner. I was so hungry! So, I ordered a gigantic hamburger. It was delicious! After dinner, we went back to the hotel for the post-race party and then went back to the room and went to sleep. Today was definitely a good day!
