Suck It Up, Buttercup 10K {Race Recap}

Oh hey there. Yes, it’s true… I’m still alive. Not only that, but I have my first official race recap of 2015 — because I love running again! I’ve actually been itching to post again about… something… anything… but I just haven’t had the time or energy or something. #excuses

So yeah… back to this race thing.

For the 8 months I have been missing my racing buddy. She was injured. I hated running. Racing just sounded miserable. The races I did do were fun, but there were missing something. Really someone.

#favoritepicture

So, for her 29th birthday (it’s a big year!) I bought her the BEST GIFT EVER — a race registration. Not only that but a race register in the middle of the hottest summer we’ve had in YEARS. Oh, and did I mention there were actually hills? (I know, it’s amazing to hear that we actually have some here in Orlando that aren’t just overpasses) Sounds like a great comeback race if you ask me! I started this race weekend making very healthy choices. We went to a fantastic Imagine Dragons show on Friday night in Tampa.

Bedtime = 2am

I followed it up by going out for drinks and a showing of Magic Mike XXL with a bunch of my lady friends on Saturday night.

Bedtime = 12:30am Healthy choices guys. It’s a priority for me, obviously.

This means I slept maybe 8 hours in 2 days. I’m smart! So, it’s not surprising that I LITERALLY had to forced myself to get dressed and out the door to pick up Paula by 5am. Yay. Thankfully, race adrenaline kicked in (oh, and an iced coffee helped too!) and by the time we got to the race site, about 45 minutes away, I was wide awake.

We easily picked our bibs and t-shirts, dropped them off at the car, and then had plenty of time to use the porta potty (see Paula’s post for more on this) and mingle. I got there early so I could get into an East Orlando MRTT picture. I’ve only been running with them for a couple of months — but I already love them!

Paula and I also found our co-worker, Leah, who I might have talked into running this race.

We then stood around for a LOOOOONG time. The Race Director was MIA and apparently she needed to be there to kick this shindig off. We were supposed to start running at 6:30 – and it was closer to 7 when we started. But, I guess the good news is that it finally started and we were off.

And it was HOT. So, so hot and SOOOOO humid. It was like running in mud.

Suck it up, we did.

My only complaint (other than the late start) is that the 10k and the 5k started together and it was a cluster. The first mile was such a strugglefest – not just because of the hills (I secretly love hills — my legs can get some good traction!), but becuase of all of all of the bobbing and weaving. However, I kept pushing.

Around the 1st mile the 10K and the 5K split and things got a little easier. By easier, I mean there were less people. This course was still tough. I also managed to catch up with two of girls I run with during the week and chatted with them for a little bit (which I NEVER do during a race — who am I??) before an elastic on one of my braids snapped. EFFFFFFF! I suppose I could have continued on looking like a crazy person, but I was already really gross and sweaty and everything was sticking to me — so I pulled over and stopped (AGAIN — SOMETHING I NEVER DO). Thankfully, I was wearing a hat and I quickly pulled it up into the hat. I still probably lost about a minute. BUMMER.

Even though I lost my girls, I fought hard to keep them in my line of sight. I actually almost caught up to them, but we hit a loooooong incline between mile 4 and mile 5 and I slowed down a little. I was so happy to chase them though because I REALLY think I would have stopped to walk at least 8 times. They seriously kept me going.

After what felt like a million hills, I finally hit the decline towards the finish and all I could think about was how happy I was that this wasn’t a half marathon.

I finished in 1:02:26 and while that’s a far cry from my PR, I was happy. I am happy.

A happy person who looks like a toolbag with Paula’s sunglasses on.

I figured that I the humidity added at least a minute per mile to my pace (obvious statement: humidity is a BITCH) — and stopping to fix my damn didn’t help. I’m really just excited that I’m running and happily racing again. I also know that there are PRs to come. I was also excited to celebrate with some lovely running ladies.

That’s Paula’s favorite porta potty right behind us…

While we didn’t have beer (sad!) there was Dunkin Donut and munchkins (and unlike other races – they didn’t run out).

Overall, I really enjoyed this race. Summer races are hard to find here (for obvious reasons!) and I look forward to running this again next year — at an even faster pace.

My next race is still up in the air. I’m thinking about running the Stone Island 10K in August, because it can’t be any worse than the one I just ran! It will probably be just as humid, but at least it’s flat (and the 5K and 10K starts are at different times). After that I have the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon in October. Could it be a PR?? I’m not holding my breath. But next year?? It’s on.

Oh… and I also discovered that E still really likes medals.

Guess I need to keep running!

<3 <3 <3