Brewers Mini Marathon & 10K

Last week Saturday, my Fiancé and I participated in the Brewers Mini-Marathon and 10K.  We ran the 10K.    The morning of the race, I did not feel ready.  I was overly emotional and tired.  When the alarm went off I rolled over and said to my fiancé "Good luck, have fun".  My head was just not mentally prepared to get up and run.  After pouting for a few minutes, I rolled myself out of bed and started to get ready.  The race was held at Miller Park,  the Milwaukee Brewers (baseball) Stadium. The stadium is about a 15 minute drive from our house.

When we got to the race, we were directed to a parking spot.  There was a lot more traffic than I had expected.  We parked in one of the stadiums lots and walked to the starting line.  The parking lots were filling up as if it was a game day.  I did a quick port-a-potty run and then we headed up to the stadium-where the start and finish line were located.  I didn't realize that the stadium would be open and I could have used a nicer restroom.  My fiancé did his bathroom stop, I went and washed my hands and we took a quick selfie before heading to the start line at 6:40 for the 7am start. 

Pre race selfie

At the starting line, we placed ourselves at the front.  I wanted to try and go out hard, and see how I could maintain my pace.  I noticed a woman at the front who I could tell just by looking at her would win (I was right).  Its one of my talents- I can get to the start line of most races and pick out the winner prior to the race beginning.  10K runners started 15 minutes prior to the half marathon runners.  

When the race started, we were in the second row of runners to go off the starting line. Mile one was relatively flat, which fooled me to thinking the majority of the race would be flat.  I had viewed the race map a few times prior to the day of, but I hadn't done any research as to what the course would be like with inclines.  Inclines (hills) are my worst enemy.  The minute I'm faced with a hill, my running will be going downhill- haha- but really, hills kill me.  Mile one went around part of the stadium and an attached parking lot, leading us out towards miller brewing company.  I hit Mile 1 in 7:32.  I felt good and my legs didn't feel dead.  My fiancé and I were still at the front of the pack. 

My fiancé runs with Nike + to track his mile times and inclines. I use my Garmin Forerunner 10.  Looking at his app, i was able to see the difference in inclines.  Mile 1 was -22ft. (flat with some downhill).  Mile 2 had us hit the first set of hills- total incline for that mile was +39ft.  Mile 2 started flat, the middle of the mile, however had two up-hills, and then the mile ended flat, rounding around miller brewing company.  I hit Mile 2 in 8:23.  I could already feel my quads burning from the hills.  By the time we hit mile 3,  I was starting to think about giving up.  5ks are the perfect race distance for me.  At mile 3 I knew that my fiancé could finish much stronger if he didn't run with me, but the reason he does these races is to run with me. (Mile 4 I started telling him he could go run without me- its become my pattern).

Mile 3 had +8ft incline. A relatively flat mile. Mile 3 was straight down the same road.  I hit Mile 3 in 8:42.

Mile 4 sucked the life out of me. There was a water stop at the beginning of mile 4 that I took advantage of.  My fiancé told me after the race that he was surprised I stopped for water.  I just needed an excuse to slow down and a water stop always gives me that. It started relatively flat but ended on an on ramp. Prior to the water stop I had slowed my pace down.  After the water, I picked up pace knowing the on ramp was coming and would cause me to slow down.  When we hit the ramp, I stopped to walk (my walking lasted literally 5 seconds) but I needed to slow down.  I don't have legs that are able to run hills.  I've started to realize how much this affects me in races and am starting to incorporate hill training into my runs. I need to build up the strength in my legs so I don't have more races like this one.  The total incline for mile 4 was +46ft and I ran Mile 4 in 10:04 aka- I died on mile 4.  I'm taking this as a learning experience.  I now know my biggest weakness and can work towards improving in this area of my running.

Once off the on ramp, the hill just kept going.  We were now on Hawley road heading up towards Wells St.  Mile 5 eventually turned onto Wells and became a flat course again.  Mile 5 ended with us running down the first hill we had gone up and heading back toward the stadium. Mile 5 had me in my head and I walked about 2 more times, and wanted to cry.  I actually did start crying for about 10 seconds.  I just wanted to be done, I felt defeated, slow and like a failure.  I just wanted to finish! I was getting frustrated with people running between me and my fiancé separating us from running next to each other.  I just let every little thing bother me on this mile. Once again, if it weren't for my fiancés encouraging looks and telling me we were almost done, I would have started to really give up.  I would have finished, but I would have walked and cried for a bit first.  I'm glad I didn't do that and continued to push myself.  I finished Mile 5 in 9:27.

The beginning of mile 6 made a square around one of the parking lots and headed into the underground part of the stadium- the part that is off limits to the public.  We ran through the stadium onto the field where we hit the end of mile 6. I loved being on the field and seeing myself on the jumbo Tron, but I hate how it got congested. The running space decreases dramatically and its a struggle to get past anyone.  I was starting to get my grove back at this point, but I couldn't get around anyone. I hit Mile 6 in 9:38.

The last 0.2 of the race, I started to pick up my pace only to die again.  I could see the finish line and my fiancé was pumping my up to finish hard but I had to back off. I couldn't breathe and was wheezing.  I had jumped the gun on my finish (same as I had the weekend prior). All the runners I had just spent effort passing were starting to pass me.  I took the 5 seconds to slow down and then picked the pace back up. My fiancé and I crossed the finish line hand in hand with big smiles.  We finished!!

I finished 21st female in my division, 132 in my gender and 334 overall.  My finish time was 55:58 with a 9:00/mi pace (my Garmin told me I had an 8:56 pace).  Overall, I'm satisfied with my results.  Its not as fast as previous 10ks I've run but with where my training (or lack of) has been, I did alright.  My fiancé definitely could have finished faster, but we don't sign up for these to run off on the other, we sign up to do them together.  In 2 weeks we have a 5K race and plan to dominate.  Like I said previously, 5ks are my strongest!  

I'm excited to get back into my training and see what I can pull off on Oct 17th. I am hoping for 20min 5k.  Not my fastest but not my slowest.  I don't have to win, although it wouldn't hurt.  My goal is to race smart, finish hard, and leave everything I've got on the course. And of course, to have fun!