My goal this year for the Stillwater Log Run 10-miler, which was nearly a month ago already, was to beat last year’s time. This year’s race, on September 22 (my son’s 25th birthday!), was supposed to be better than last year. I felt better. I felt stronger. I felt more prepared. I was ready.
Or so I thought.
Once again, I decided to run with a pacer, someone who keeps you on track and most often, on an even pace for the whole race. Because I felt SO good – I really did – I decided to line up with the 1:50 pacer, meaning we would finish the race in one hour and 50 minutes. I knew this was somewhat of a lofty goal, considering last year’s Log Run I finished in two hours. But I thought what the heck, might as well give it a try.
Here are my stats from the 2017 Stillwater Log Run 10-mile race:
I was not happy with last year’s run. At all. I had to walk a good chunk of it and that, to put it bluntly, pissed me off. So this year, I trained more and truly felt ready for it. I felt ready, despite the extra 10 pounds I can’t seem to get rid of. Damn menopause. Yes, I am using that as an excuse. Lol. Anyway, I ran a nine-miler a couple weeks before this year’s run and ran the whole thing – no walking. I ran it in 1:43:33, which resulted in an overall average pace of 11:30 min/mile. I was happy with that.
Race morning, I remember feeling great. Again, I felt ready. Which is why I decided to go with the 1:50 pacer. Yes, again, a little lofty, but in my head, was actually doable. And it was, for the first five miles. So, what went wrong? A couple of things. One, I typically DO NOT talk when I run. It takes too much out of me. Especially with my asthma. Second, pushing it up a hill and going at a faster pace up the hill. So, why did I talk? Because after mile one, it was just me and the pacer, which I feel really bad, but I can’t remember his name. Justin? Maybe. Anyway, because it was just the two of us, it seemed awkward not talking. We didn’t talk a lot, but I knew it was too much and there were a couple of times where I did tell him I needed not to talk because I knew it was taking too much out of me. But then, we would start talking again. Stupid, I know.
At mile five, after the pretty big hill on mile three, I knew I couldn’t keep up and told him I was going to slow down, which I did. My pace dropped from 11:09 to 12:22. I was mad. I was frustrated. And it reminded me of the year before, where I also struggled and actually gave up. Mile seven came and went and I had to do a bit of walking – up a hill. Mile eight was okay. I sent a text to Al, my husband, who I knew had already finished, which read, “Struggling hard. 1.4 left.” He replied back, “You can do it! There is a nice downhill.” Mile nine had a bit more walking and then on mile 10, which is where there was a nice downhill and when I knew I could actually beat my time from last year, I put on my big girl panties and sucked it up, quit feeling sorry for myself and dug deep. My pace went from 13:39 in mile nine to 11:31 in mile 10. I did end up beating my time. Not by much. But I did it!
Here are my stats from this year:
And this is what I looked like after the race:
Al thought it would be funny to put that sign by me. And it was. After I rested a bit, Al and I did get a good photo and then, I saw a couple of paramedics and asked if they would be kind enough to do a funny photo with me. They did and thought it was hilarious!
And even though I struggled, I have to admit, I was happy to have beat my time from last year, even though I barely did. The photographer, who works for the Stillwater Gazette, captured a decent photo of me coming into the finish line.
Yes, I truly was that happy to be done. He also got a great shot of Al, too, who looks fierce and determined! Al, by the way, finished in 1:29:33.
Two weeks after the Stillwater Log Run, on Sunday, October 7, Al and I ran the Medtronics (Twin Cities in Motion) TC 10-Mile Race in the Twin Cities. This race, which we planned out to be, was our 200th race since we started running eight years ago. Together we’ve run 92 5Ks, six 7Ks, 65 10Ks, 12 10-milers, nine half-marathons (13.1 miles), three half-marathon relays, four quarter-marathons (6.55 miles), one 2.5 miler, one 12-mile relay (we each only ran three miles of), and one 1-mile sprint.
We have also done several races where one of us ran and the other didn’t. Total mileage for all the races we’ve ran, including those not together, is 2,120.5, which is roughly the distance from Alexandria, MN to Key West, FL.
We were both pretty pumped and super stoked for the TC 10-mile race. Me, being me, made shirts for the both of us to wear. Not only to celebrate our 200th race, but also our 10th wedding anniversary, which happened to be the day after the race. The picture is from after the race once we were back in our room. We had planned to celebrate close to the finish line, but it was way too cold! We celebrated in our nice, warm, cozy room instead!
And once again, I felt great. I felt ready. I had a feeling it was going to be better than Stillwater and I was right. It was. A couple of things I did differently – I didn’t run with a pacer, I didn’t talk and I just ran according to how I felt. If I felt good, I pushed myself a bit; if I felt like I needed to slow down, then I slowed down. I walked one time and that was only to send a quick text to Al letting him know I only had two miles left. His response, “Wow! I am just about done.” Five minutes later he texted back, “I just finished.”
A couple of other differences with this race, which is why I think it went better, was the amount of race spectators and the number of participants. There were people along most of the route for the Twin Cities race and in Stillwater, there were only 255 runners, whereas the TC 10 Mile, there were 10,904. Just a wee bit different. Lol.
The number of runners and the number of spectators can make a huge difference. I feed off the energy when it is a bigger run. It just seems to give me more energy, plus, with this being the 200th race for us, that in and of itself made me feel more energized.
Here’s a look at my stats from the TC 10-mile race:
Yes, I shaved nearly six minutes off of my time. And my average pace was even better than the nine-miler I ran. Seriously, I was so super excited after the race. I felt so good the entire time, even when a squirrel ran across my foot. Yes, you read that right. A squirrel ran across my foot, along with a couple of other people I was running next to. It was crazy and it gave us all quite a chuckle and we were all just a wee bit shocked and surprised as could be heard by all of our gasps and then laughs. In 200 races, I can say that has never happened before.
It was a fantastic race for me. Al didn’t quite do as good as he wanted, but he finished and that’s all that matters. Our next race is the Fargo Mini Marathon, which takes place this coming Saturday, October 20. Al will be running the 10K and I am going for the half-marathon. YIKES! I don’t necessarily have a goal in mind, although I would love to do better than last year’s time, but I will be happy if I just finish.
Both Al and I are looking forward to the next 100 0r even 200 races. We both love it and will keep doing it as long as our bodies and my lungs allow me to.
Stay tuned for a couple more blogs coming up this week (or hopefully this week). I have one for all the ladies out there. You will want – and NEED – to read it. I promise.
And then I will be blogging about our 10-year anniversary trip we took to Duluth. We left after the race on Sunday, October 7 and came home late Friday, October 12. It was a magnificent trip and I can’t wait to share some of the photos.
Until then, here’s a couple of finish line photos from the TC 10-miler. Yes, I truly was that excited!
Newspaper Girl on the Run 