Runners HI 20k

This race is right in our backyard, which by default makes it my favorite race of the series.  I don't have to wake up at 3am to get there and after the race it's a quick 5 minute drive and I'm back home and into the icebath!

Races, running and working out in Ewa is always HOT, HOT, HOT. I was pleasantly surprised when we started the race and the sun wasn't completely out yet, there was hope that I would be finished before the super heat began.

I'm trying this new thing, it's called warming up before races.  Craig always writes in my TP log to get in a good warm up and cool down before these things start, but I always figured, I'll just warm up in the first mile of the run, who wants to run extra miles anyways, I sure don't.  Well these last two races I have been following directions and it definitely helps warming up (Craig you were right all along!), I think I'll continue to do that from now on. :-)

So this race is a 3 loop course (about 4 miles each loop), which I kinda like. You run the first loop, build into the second one and then you just have the last loop to see what you can do.  Well before the race started Kim and I were talking pace and I let her know I was shooting for around 7:30s....the horn sounds and we take off, we're running together for the first 4/5miles and I keep checking my watch and seeing 7:15-7:20, I'm thinking wow, we're doing great, a little ahead of the paces we wanted, but we're almost halfway done we can totally keep this up.  I lost her at one of the aid stations and kept on plugging away.  All I kept thinking was I better be able to hold this pace for the whole race or Craig is gonna kill me for not following the plan. I start the final loop and I'm beginning to feel it a little, so I pop some e21 and I'm good to go.  The last 3/4 mile hurt pretty bad, but I made it and in a PR as well!

So I get to the finish, super pumped that I went faster than I did last year, which was really my goal the whole time and I go get some water to start re-hydrating and I keep thinking, where are all the other girls?, I saw Rachel (who by the way just did IM Canada last weekend and she raced today, I definitely won't be doing anything like that, that's for sure) she'd been done for a long time and Karen was a minute behind me, but where was everyone else?? I forgot about it and just watched everyone else come in.  Well they posted the results soon after this and I ended up 2nd overall for females!! That's why there were no other girls....I think I might be getting pretty good at this running thing...I'm not sure I'd say I love it like I did when I was swimming year round, but it's growing on me for sure.

Here's a few pictures to recap the morning

Me and Karen, 2nd and 3rd OA

Kim got the W for her age group! and she was 7th overall!

 

 

Me, Kim and Karen

 

 

I'm elite? I guess so, today!