We had entered the lottery back in July, and were both a bit surprised that we made it in. The field was limited to 8K participants (up from 6500 last year), and they have some sort of policy where if you don't get selected three (?) years in a row, then you are guaranteed entry the following year. So I guess we were lucky to be chosen!
After the Pikermi we ran in early August, I took a few weeks off while we were on the SHT - then a few more weeks off to recover from the SHT. In September I started doing a few more long-ish runs, but I was getting nervous for the big event after I realized on 9/25/10 that my longest run since the Pikermi was "only" 6.5 miles. Well, they say if you can run 6 miles you can run 10, so I was banking on that to be true.
On Saturday we went to the race expo to pick up our bibs and chips. It was chaos! We walked past all the booths, and got to hear Kristin Armstrong (who writes Mile Markers for Runner's World magazine) speak about the importance of "sweat sisters." She gave a great talk, and in retrospect I'm kicking myself for chickening out on asking my question: "What do you do when your 'sweat sister' gets exponentially faster than you?"
You may remember a few weeks ago on one of my "running update" posts that Amanda told me she had "bad news...I've been getting a lot faster." I've tried running faster myself, but I'm just not fast! And then she told me a couple days ago that she might want to run separately for the 10 mile so she could "stretch her legs more." I've been having a lot of emotions in reaction to this, from shame that I am slow, to disgust for ever thinking I could pass as a runner, to being angry at her for leaving me behind. More than anything, however, is the grief I'm feeling at losing my running buddy. I hadn't realized how much I'd come to depend on our (mostly) weekly runs for companionship, stress relief, and heart-to-heart conversations. It was she who pushed me to imagine running distances further than I ever dreamed possible - so what kind of runner would I be if left on my own?
In the end she decided that it would be nice to run the first 5 miles together, then she would run ahead for the next 5. I can't say I was a huge fan of that plan, but I would rather have some company than no company so I went along with it.
The race itself was gorgeous! It started off at the Metrodome, wound through downtown (through the Mill district and past the Guthrie), along the river (to the Franklin St bridge), over to St. Paul, along the river some more (to Summit Ave), and all the way down Summit to the Capitol. (The official course map is here.)
I was sad when Amanda left me at the half way mark, but I also understood her need to move on. And, even more than that, I felt incredibly proud of myself for continuing on my own!! If I did the math correctly (see my splits here), we did the first 3.8 miles at an 11:23 pace, then I did the next 6.2 miles at 11:27, for an overall pace of 11.26. In other words, I got a little slower, but I still kept up a pretty good (for me) pace even on my own! And I came in under my goal of 2 hours!!
I can't say what will happen next on my running journey. I hope I will continue to be able to run with Amanda, but I think today was also proof that I am a runner even on my own. This is certainly not the last of my running adventures!
As a brief aside, I also want to give a shout-out to my wonderful husband who came to pick us up at the end, battling all the marathon/10-mile traffic and cheerfully taking a congratulatory photo of us. Thank you, Mike! :)
My race results:
Turkey Day 5K - 11/27/08 - 36:00? (not officially timed; 11:37? pace)
Heart of Summer 5K - 7/25/09 - (not run due to miscarriage)
Drumstick Dash 10K - 11/26/09 - 1:10:44 (11:23 pace)
Get in Gear 10K - 4/24/10 - (official race not run due to heavy rain, but unofficial race run 2 days later)
Race for the Cure 5K - 5/9/10 - 33:00? (not officially timed: 10:37? pace)
Torchlight 5K - 7/21/10 - 37:00? (not officially timed; 11:55? pace)
Urban Wildland Pikermi - 8/7/10 - 2:41:16 (12:19 pace)
Medtronic TC 10 Mile - 10/3/10 - 1:54:16 (11:26 pace)
Upcoming races: Turkey Day 5K (?)
3 comments:
I think what you need to do is take the torch and become the inspiration for the next runner in line...just as Amanda did for you. There's someone back there wishing she could keep pace with you!
PS Sorry, I forgot to sign; the Dad
Thanks for the shout-out! You are a great runner on your own merits!!!
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