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Race Result

Racer: Alisa Key
Race: Army 10 Miler
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2007
Location: Washington DC, DC
Race Type: Run - 10 mile
Age Group: Female 35 - 39
Time: 1:27:08
Overall Place: 954 / 7487
Age Group Place: 136 / 1336
Comment: HOT HOT HOT



Race Report:



Well I think this actually is my first race report with TriRats.. Hopefully with more practice my stream of consciousness writing style will become...shall we say more concise:-)

It always seems that the ATM registration sneaks up on me...I have the best intentions to register...life gets in the way...I forget...and the race fills before I know it. So I was lucky enough this year to get a transfer from a friend who was going to be out of town. I was unlucky in that my mommy running group seems to have had low participation in the last year for various reasons, none of them were running (I had no pacers)and I was feeling low motivation as well after recently joining a new firm and feeling the time constraints of that change and life in general. The venue was in my backyard (I probably could have walked to the start) and so I still was going to run although without that "comradarie" I've had in the past. The week prior I learned that a few of neighbors also were running so we all caucused at another neighbor's birthday party the night before. Departing from my two light beer/cheese pizza dinner before a race ritual I had Philippino food and a glass of red wine that night. I guess I wasn't really expecting much from the race- certainly not a PR - and I knew it was going to be hot. I also knew that I had not been doing a great job of hydrating myself the days leading up to Sunday. But - my friend did give me the transfer and it was a good excuse for a run but uggh - I don't know - why was it going to be so hot --- in October??? Anyway, my mother was all set to watch my son the morning of the race and my brother thought he would come along with the dogs and take some photos so all was in order - well all except my spirit.

Race morning - we all set out for the two minute drive to the race start and arrived around 6:50. I had some water, a couple bites of a bagel and a double espresso gel - my morning coffee:-) Although I was slated for the second wave I was standing at the front of that wave and ended up starting with the first wave. Thoughts: Gosh last year around this time it was much cooler. Other thoughts: I'm in a tank - why are so many people wearing their long sleeve ATM shirts - it's too hot.. pretty sunrise...cool paratroopers (or Golden Eagles? or whatever they are called). From the beginning of the race I was hot, wet and still so unmotivated. So I set a very low goal for myself - finish and feel ok for the rest of the day.. I had to be my son would demand an energetic mom with whom to play AND I had a soccer game Sunday night where undoubtedly there would be no female subs. Ok - maybe just do it in under 1:30.

So I trudged along trying to remember the course and reminding myself to get water at ever stop. Usually I race with a friend, Pam, and we keep pace - she even pushes me a little. But she's in the mist of moving to NJ - no more Pam and still less motivation. Nevertheless I felt strong at the start - good stride- nothing hurt (quad and calf had been hurting) and I was able to get around a bunch of folks ahead of me. I also caught a rabbit/Pam who I was directly behind for a good part of the race - going up towards the Watergate and back around DC until somewhere on Independence I lost her. Mile 6 waterstop - I really wanted water and was happy/lucky to get some up until then - barely a sip though at Mile 6 but I hear I was even lucky with that sip. Running on Independence I was hoping the course didn't lead us UP Capitol Hill - it didn't:-). The crowds, music and cheering on Independence were great- thanks to those out there. You motivated me to keep going because I wanted to call it quits. I was LUCKY again to get a good cup of water at mile 8 - at this point it was really hot and sunny. It felt like there was very little shelter from the sun and I was approaching the bridge. Even the Severn River Bridge in the dead of August felt cooler than this. On the bridge, I saw one of the Missing Parts in Action runners - unbelievable - he looked to be doing very well and strong - again unbelievable. Much better than me because I was starting to feel loopy. I decided I needed to regroup and made the ultimate decision to walk for a minute. Thoughts: even if I walk for just a minute I can still finish in under 1:30. Other thoughts: Really, I'd rather just not pass out. I'm fairly certain that part of that very difficult decision for me to walk was mental - I've done the MCM plenty of times and well I'm just not keen on that bridge. I like it much less in the heat and sun. I'm actually glad I took that breather because I was able to feel pretty good as I came down the ramp and counted down runners to the finish. Most importantly, I didn't pass out and was able to enjoy a fun filled day with my little guy (he loves the medals and coins from races and sure was happy with the coin and chocolate muffin from the ATM) and play soccer that night (as expected no subs). Legs felt a bit sore on Monday but not too bad. All in all I did have fun. Although, I wished I had remembered about the rendez-vous at Four Courts - it would have been nice to meet some of you and enjoy some Irish food - we ended up at Bob & Edith's instead. Hopefully I can remember to actually register myself for the race next year:-)

Afterthought: There were a lot of sweet things (cookies, bananas, muffins) at the finish which were nice but I didn't notice anything salty. I was definitely craving salt not sugar. Anyone else?

Thanks for reading.