We Came, We Ran, We Conquered!

2013 Bellin Run is officially in the books and we rocked it!

Matt and I before the race

This morning I woke up with mixed emotions going into this race.  Nerves and Excitement were all over the place.  It was my last race before I turn 40.  I knew that I had been training hard for this but was still not confident that I could reach my goal of 1:10:00.  While I waited for Matt and Molly to pick me up, I couldn't sit still!!  

Once we finally found someplace to park and walked the 6 blocks to the park, I was ready!  Just being in the park with the other 20,000 runners and walkers was enough to wash away the nervousness.  The weather was perfect (even though Matt would say it was too chilly!) I had a feeling it was going to be an awesome day!  We were starting in Wave 5, so by the time we reached the starting line, the Elite Runners were already 22 minutes into their run and nearing mile 5!  Finally we were off and running!!

The first few miles were tough as there is a slight incline until we made the first turn, just after mile marker 2.  My calves were burning and I seriously was wondering if I could keep the pace for the entire run. 2 Miles in and under 21 minutes so far. Thankfully right after that first turn is a nice stretch that runs downhill!  That was enough of a break to give my calves the release that they needed.  Even though the air was cooler, the sprinklers along the course were still very welcome and refreshing. (Thanks Squirrel and Wayne for that 1st sprinkler!)

I managed to hit a 5K split of 32:44, which is right in line with my 5K time from last weekend.  Knowing that today I was able to hit that benchmark, while pacing myself to make sure I can finish the full 6.2 miles, I am confidant that I will break that 30 minute 5K wall before too long!

Somewhere between miles 4 and 5 I reached that point where I felt like I was hitting the wall.  Matt asked me if I needed to walk for a bit and that sounded like a good idea.  My mind overpowered by body though and within a block, I was running again.  My legs were ready to give up, but my mind was not!

As we approached the area around Astor Park, I thought I heard someone yell my name, but my mind was in the zone... I would find out later that it was Carl, Michelle and Lloyd that were yelling as I ran by.  I was focused only on finishing at this point that i wasn't really paying attention to the yelling crowds.  I could tell from the pace times that I was getting from my Runtastic App that I was well on the way to beating my goal time... by how much was yet to be determined.

I still don't know where it came from, but once we turned the corner heading away from the park, adrenaline kicked in.  The last 3+ blocks was a sprint to the finish!

My finish time 1:06:30.  Official time per the Race website when we got home, 1:06:59.  Well under the 1:10:00 goal that I had set for myself!  We headed to get some water from where Molly was volunteering - water good!  We stopped to relax for a bit and then it was time to do get up and walk around and made our way around the corner to get our official finish photo's.  Matt headed back to where Molly was working and I was headed to find food!  Banana's, bagels and pretzels were in my future!

When I got back to the finish line, apparently rest time was over.  I found Matt helping the finish line crew pass out bottle water to those that were finishing behind us!  Can't keep him sitting still for very long!

Next up:  Lazy Lobster 5 Mile run next weekend!