When in doubt, DON’T
Benji Franklin
Well if I’ve learned anything this fall it’s to not doubt myself.

I'm so glad that I have ppl who tell me that I'm (and I may be paraphrasing a bit) HOT SH!T 😉
Aaaaaaaaaaand I’ve also learned that partying with your childhood friends the night before a race might be a good idea. Because that’s what I did the night before the Tufts 10k. In all fairness we were celebrating my bestie’s birthday. I tried to cut out early. I always think that this is possible buttttt it never is. Darn. At the very least I tried to tame my inner Ke$ha 😉
While I’ve always maintained that my best runs come after a late night I don’t think I’d EVER think about applying it as part of a race strategy. Live and learn right? Or not because, as you’ll see, things turned out most excellent.
I drove back to my hometown on Sunday afternoon. I was meeting up with Lacey beforehand and we were heading into the race together and my mom’s house is closer to the spot we were meeting than my apartment. So I figured I’d get more sleep this way. Well, I ended up getting WAY less sleep than if I had stayed put because of said party. But it was fun. And I got to see peeps I hadn’t seen in awhile. If anything it was a good way to take my mind of off the stuff that’s been making me mopey lately. No regrets.
Anyway. I met up with Lacey and we headed into Boston together. It was our one year anniversary as we met for the first time at this race last year.
I feel like I’ve known her forever though!
Pre-Race
We actually got there pretty early (if you’ve been reading for awhile you’ll know that last year I had to hop a fence to make it to the start on time!). It was a noon start and we hopped off the T around 1030 in time to pick up our bibs and goodies. There was SO MUCH FREE STUFF. We didn’t hit up the expo until afterward (and literally loaded up our bags) but there was tons to see. We, of course, sat down and tried to relax/get amped up.
I also put a ribbon in my hair, which Lacey tied the bow for and then said “Now you’re a real girl”. Gee thanks 😉 I also wore my black spandex booty shorts and a black tank. Because I truly believe that (in ANYTHING in life) how you dress is how you’ll preform and affect how you feel. So that outfit = bamf. And I had a pink bracelet on and the ribbon to soften it. I may or may not overthink these things. Oopsies.
The announcer started calling everyone up to the start and we headed to the very beginning of the 7:00 pace group. I’ve never actually seeded myself that fast before. It was all Lacey’s doing 🙂
But it was cool to actually be able to see the elites (because this was a national championship for the 10k) in front of us as there weren’t many women in front of us in the 6:00 and 5:00 pace groups. Someone sang the national anthem and BOOM we were off.
Race:
Mile 1: 6:36 (6:36)
“Ummmm this is fast. Can I hold on?” and then “ummmm this is close to my 5k pace. Holy #$%@” I was just trying to keep up with Lacey early on. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I developed, what I call, “smokers lung” and my lungs stayed COLD for the rest of the race. (in fact, as I sit here Monday night typing this my lungs still haven’t felt back to normal. Boo.) And I lost my headband which threw me off for a second. Oh well.Â
Mile 2: 6:35 (13:11)
I tried to pull ahead of some of the women in front of me, as they looked fast and I wanted to pass them. It was really tough but I wanted to keep trying to hold onto this pace because I wasn’t quite sure how long it would last. I just kept chugging along and I do remember thinking to myself that “after the first mile my body will adapt to this pace”. Hey, I can dream right?
Mile 3: 6:51 (20:02)
Suspiciously close to my 5k pr time. I definitely remember being SCARED of this thought as it meant that I could really DOMINATE this race. Or I could crash and burn. It wasn’t even half over at the 3 mile mark! Especially since I really felt the slow and the fatigue creep in. Hence the almost 7:00 minute mile.
Mile 4: 6:55 (26:57)
Another bit of a slow mile. But I should say that my strategy going into this was a fast first 2, hold for 2, kick for 2. So I can’t be too upset with this mile. And it was still sub-7.
Around mile 4 we had to do a hairpin turn and then run the opposite way of where we just ran (on the other side of the yellow lines of the road. If that makes sense) As I turned and passed the 4 mile mark Lacey was headed the other way on the road and as we passed each other we slapped hands and said something to each other. Likely this was along the lines of “keep it up” or “push it” and it lifted me immensely.
Mile 5 : 6:35 (33:32)
Another thing that lifted me immensely was picking off people. I’ve also learned this fall that I’m WICKED competitive. So picking off the women in front of me was a BOO-freaking-YA. It made me feel really good to be going so fast. Of course my legs hurt a bit but I’m truly a long distance gal and the longer I was out there the less my legs hurt.
And as I passed the 5 mile marker there was a little boy, maybe kindergarten age who was yelling personalized things to the runners. Mine was: “nice ponytail”! Which made me chuckle and I turned to give him a big thumbs up! I was also running down same area as Boston Marathon, and at the Comm Ave / Hereford intersection I remembered pushing hard there. And it gave me some kick to fight home.
Mile 6: 6:37 (40:05)
I rounded the corner to the finish at mile 6 and I got maybe halfway down this stretch and was KICKING the heck out of the course. I was probably close to a full out sprint (or at least as close as I could be after the effort) and Joan Benoit Samuelson was being announced as crossing the finish line (she ran a 40:30 I think). Which was cool because she is FAST and I wasn’t too far behind. Of course, she had just smashed some marathon record the day before in Chicago (2:47:50!!) and was not running her “A” game here. But it was cool nonetheless. As soon as she crossed the line she turned around to high five all the runners coming in, like she always does at this race.
But during this final stretch I was determined to not let any of the women pass me. And I actually passed one or two myself. Which is exciting. And made me push through the fact that my legs didn’t want to run any faster. But I made them dammit.
Total: 41:27 (clock)
41:23 (watch)
41:20 (chip) 6:40 pace
This is a 3:49 minute PR
Age Group: 41/1594= top 2.6%
Overall (and women because it’s a all women race): 72/6690 = top 1.1%
OH SNAP.
Post-Race:
So I’m VERY proud of myself for this race. I really wasn’t feeling it mentally. Like I’ve said (and it’s probably come across in the tone of my posting lately) I’ve got a lot on my mind lately and being able to focus on one thing RACING is hard. Concentrating on one thing PERIOD is hard. Granted this worked out for me in my 5k where I really let my mind wander but I’m happy that for 6.2 miles my mind was on racing.
And I’m happy with how I executed it too. Like I said above, my strategy was go out strong and fast for the first two miles, then hold on for the next two, then kick it to the end. And my splits reflected that. The next step is obviously holding a strong pace for the WHOLE 6.2 miles 😉
I will say that, as happy and on cloud nine as I am, my pace (6:40) is not that much faster than my 5k PR pace (6:26). Hmmmm. I don’t really know what that says. And my legs didn’t feel drained and completely done-zo at the end. Another hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Especially since I met up with a high school running buddy for some “easy miles” which *felt* easy but were at 8:00 pace. And since I had a big mileage weekend beforehand (silly weather being so tempting!)
Oh well.
I’m extraordinarily happy with how my fall “racing season” (if you want to call it my three — untrained for and not really planned — races) went. I smashed records (my own of course 😉 ) left and right. I may have a Jingle Bell 5k that I’m thinking of doing in December but all my “serious” races are done and over (as the December one would be a costume-y one. YAY).
But seriously. I learned another thing this fall: I am a racer. I live for this. Granted every single time I step to the starting line I want to back out. But I don’t because I love the thrill of pushing myself. And the feeling of wanting to vomit because apparently I want to do it every time I cross the finish line.
Therefore I want y’all to
Remember. My. Name.
This is 10% luck,
20% skill,
15% concentrated power of will,
5% pleasure,
50% pain,
And 100% reason to remember the name!