Call me the Queen of Procrastination! ... Here is my brief race report from the Butte to Butte 10K on the Fourth of July!
Basically, if it could go wrong, it did. About 12 hours before the race, I was hurrying into the house to grab dinner and watch Prefontaine to
help get me all pumped up for the challenge ahead of me. Well, as I ran
up the step of the deck my foot crashed into it, with the most horrible
sound. I fell on the floor and saw blood right away. I was able to ask
for some ice and band-aids. I was pretty much flipping out! Thankfully
I acted fast, and in the end it was okay - just some blood on my sock
after the race, but nothing like I had expected.
Cut
to the morning of the race. I woke up at 4:30am, prepared to leave at
5:30am. I realized I forgot my pre-race routine of getting a bagel and
banana for the drive North. I drove by the store, and it wasn't open
yet. I felt I was running late, so I just got on the freeway and
hurried on my way. Well, my nerves kicked in, resulting in 2 pit-stops
on the way up. I did get a blueberry muffin at the second stop so I
could at least try to eat something, but that was pointless. Couldn't
eat. I had plans on being at the shuttles to the start line by 6:30. I
was just parking and putting on socks at 7:05. I still had to walk a
few blocks to the shuttles - and the last one was at 7:30! (I made it
in time, phew!) The bus ride really got my stomach upset. At this point
I had some pain killers and a little bit of water in me, and that was
it. Great. Found one more bathroom stop before the start, and then my
nerves started to calm down. I think there were around 3000 at this
race, I positioned myself somewhere in the middle.
And
we're off! I think I ran 1/2 of a mile before walking. And I wasn't
the only one. The entire first mile was uphill - with the last bit
getting steeper and steeper as we went. This race actually gave awards
to the first male and female to make it up the insane hill. I guess
this race is kind of notorious for that. Mile 2 was an even steeper
downhill - but I actually loved it! I did my fastest mile ever there
-and I had to in order to make up for lost time on the uphill. The rest
of the way was just flat and hot. A little after the 2 mile mark the
walkers merged with the runners, so that did make it a little more
difficult and congested.
In
the end I crossed in 1:12:23. That's 3 minutes faster than my 1st 10K!
I imagine had I eaten something, been hydrated, not had bleeding feet,
and not had to stop a couple times to either stretch out my calves or
walk for a few seconds here and there, I could have made that into a 5
minute improvement. But considering all the things I had done to
sabotage myself, I am pretty happy with my time, and that only leaves
room for improvement!
(The infamous Donald Street hill. It was brutal!!)
(Happy to be finished - with a new PR, a free water bottle, and a yummy popsicle!)
That hill look wicked. You did great!
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