For some reason I thought it would be a really good idea to hop into a 10k a week into a really hard month-long bike block. Turns out, one: it was super fun in a more-painful-than-IM way. Two: it maybe wasn’t the best idea but yolo?! And three: it meant hanging out and running with a couple Coeur Sports teammates, and I couldn’t pass that up!
The race itself – the Terror Trot – was small and low key (most Twin Citians were probably running the Monster Dash). So low key, in fact, that when the RD yelled GO!, it took a couple seconds to register that the race was starting!
It was redline from the start, as I settled into sub-7 pace – a pace I wasn’t sure I could hold since running’s been minimal with zero speed or tempo work since IMMT. But the first three miles ticked by quickly and felt good, so I figured I’d try holding it for the second loop around Lake Harriet. What’s the worst that could happen… I’d have to slow down? Thankfully it was eerily foggy – fitting for a Halloween race – so you couldn’t see the bandshell finish line across the lake.
With two miles to go, I was deep in the pain cave – thanks to well outrunning my current fitness. My mantra that last bit: repeating you can do anything for X minutes as I counted down to the finish line. With .2 to go, I passed speedy Elaina (who passed me right back), fought back some puke-and-rally, and somehow eeked out my fastest mile of the morning.
Official results: 42:03, 2nd female OA, 6th OA
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