Hey, remember when I ran the Lake Union 10k and was pissy about a 30-second PW? Well, I ran the Seattle Marathon 10k last weekend and set an even bigger PW. Go big or go home, right?
I woke up Saturday morning at 6 am and was out the door at 6:30 for a few warm-up miles. I ran a 3.2 mile loop and then came home, changed my shirt, ate half a bagel, and jogged over to Christina’s place. In total, I ran about 4.5 miles before the race, and my legs felt painfully heavy and my pace was slow.
Christina and I walked to the start together and got there a few minutes late (being late to races seems to be a trend). Christina picked up her bib, I used the porta potty, and we finally started the race eight minutes after it started.
Out of the 6.27 miles (I ran the course long), only two were even remotely close to 10k pace (8:18, 8:33). After a mile, I told Christina she could run ahead because I knew I was slowing her down. After that I lost all motivation and resigned myself to another PW. I decided that if I was going to get a PW, I might as well set a really big PW so I can avoid PWs in the future.
Solid logic, right?
I succeeded in that, finishing in 57:24, a new PW by over three minutes. I can blame it on my very sore and heavy legs, but I also mentally checked out of the race after the first mile. I regained some motivation around mile 5, but it was too late. I mentally and physically wasn’t in the mood to race, which is reflected in my time.
After the run, Christina and I met up with friends for yoga at the Olympic Sculpture park.
Later that evening, we had girls night out since our friend Laura was in town for the weekend. We ate dinner, drank too much wine and fireball, danced like fools at Ozzies (at least I danced like a fool — I have no rhythm and am a disaster on the dance floor), and finished the night by getting cheeseburgers and shakes at Dick’s.
Despite having one of my worst races ever, it was such a fun day. Running is a big part of my life, but it isn’t everything. It’s easy to forget a bad race when doing yoga in a beautiful park or dancing with girlfriends at a bar designed for 22-year-olds (we were total cougars — it was hilarious!).
I’m going to have bad races and maybe even more PWs — that’s just the way this sport is. If I got a PR at every race, I wouldn’t appreciate them. I will 100% appreciate my next 10k PR after these last two disappointing races. Yes, I am in a running slump, but I have faith that I’ll eventually work my way out of it. This training cycle is just one chapter of my running journey, and there are many chapters still to come.
Megan's Miles 