All in for Autism 10k

Do you ever have those moments when you’re cruising along through life thinking everything is in order, then you look on your calendar and get a slap back to reality because you have a 10k in one week?  I have.  Like, last week.  I had the feeling that something was lurking at the end of April, but I wasn’t too sure of what and exactly when.  It’s a very good thing, then, that I spent my Spring Break in running streak mode because I was more ready than I think I should have been.

So I ran that like a boss.  Not really like a boss, but it was a really good thing to do.  It felt really productive and proactive and therapeutic…  It was good.  It started out dry but with heavy cloud cover.  I decided to go ahead and bring my jacket and within the first mile was cursing that decision as I shimmied out of it, took off the bib, tied the jacket around my waist, reattached the bib to my shirt and only to have the rain start in earnest within moments of the whole process.  I was nice and warm by that point though, thanks to the number of hills, and was making good time.  I made a mistake, though.  I felt like I was going downhill forever.  I predicted that I’d have to climb back up those hills, so I started worrying that I was going to get tired.  Cue me slowing way down to conserve energy and I ended up really shifting my time.  Before I slowed I was running miles in the tens, but after they averaged out to in the 11’s.  Still nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s exciting to kill your times, you know?  Nonetheless, I still had my second best 10k time, and that’s something to be proud of.  That rain, though.  Sheesh!  By the third mile in it was a downpour!  Big, fat raindrops were splattering me at the finish line…  I was supposed to wait for my team but, once again, I hightailed it out of there simply to get warm.  Glad we snapped our picture pre-race!

 
After the race and I saw the results I got a little inspired.  While I’ve never been a speed person, necessarily, I do remember when I was pushing myself to go faster and I did run a few miles in the eights. When I looked at what the top finisher in my age bracket ran (8:32 splits) I realized that could be me.  I could train for speed and get faster.  I could.  It’s scary to say things like that aloud, but I’m thinking it.  😉 I see all these women who win first in their age bracket who post in my online running group and for the first time that seemed accessible and I got a little excited.  Bradley pointed out to me that if I start training for speed that I’ll probably shed the last of my goal fat that I want to lose.  Talk about motivating…  I may have a new goal ahead of me.  I’ve also been looking into macros again.  People say that they lose a ton when they start eating exactly as their makeup dictates.  That with some speed running could really make a difference in my physique this summer!  The macros scale is in my Amazon cart, I just need to pull the trigger. 👍

  
Curtis and Martha came along with me as my totems.  ❤️