I ran the Deseret News 10K Saturday. My goal was to beat my previous course time of 38:18, which was a 6:10 average. I knew the last mile would be harder than the first 5 since the race finishes slightly uphill. I thought I started out pacing myself well and felt good for most of the race. I had a 6:06 average going into the last mile, however that last mile my body just felt tired. I finished in 38:25, just 7 seconds off my goal. I think if I hadn't raced the week before and done a hard run on Thursday, and perhaps gotten more sleep I could have done it for sure. Splits: 6:04, 5:57, 6:16, 6:09, 6:09, 6:26, 1:24. Average 6:11
I ran back along the course to get my husband. This was his second 10K. His first one was 11 years ago when my dad registered him for the race. At the beginning of the year when he said one of his goals for the year was to run a 10K I thought that meant he would train for it. Apparentlly not, or perhaps his view of "training" is different than mine. He ran two miles once or twice a week for about 1/2 the weeks this year. He wanted to finish in 60 min and made it in 63, but that included a bathroom stop at the gas station. I was just glad he did it.
I think I'm actually in better shape than I was when I ran my 38:18 in 2004. I wasn't near as tired or sore afterwards this time. In 2004 my dad was dying of cancer. I stayed up until 2 a.m. discussing his treatment options with my mom the night before the Freedom Run on July 4th. I was so exhausted the next morning I decided to just run it with my brother who wasn't in as good of shape as me. When my dad asked how I did and I told him my time and that I just ran it with Mark he said, "Why didn't you do you best?" I felt awful. He would have loved to go run the race and couldn't and I could run and didn't even do my best. I was determined to "do my best" three weeks later at the Deseret News 10K. I thought if I ran well I could be under 40 minutes. As I came down the finish I looked at my watch and thought, "I could slow down and still be under 40 min, but that wouldn't be my best. I have to do my best." I dryheaved at the finish and was so tired I felt sick like I might be pregnant the next day, but wasn't. I also realized that I probably had never done my best before. I don't think I ever even pushed myself that hard racing in college. So that's the story of my 38:18. I actually don't really care that much if I ever beat the time. | 