Since it is exactly one month since the Capitol Hill 10K, I decided it would finally be a good time to post the race recap. 🙂

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I wasn’t feeling so great in the days leading up to the race. I hadn’t trained much and my running fitness level was at an all time low since I started running two years ago.

So it pretty much seemed on point when I had the worst pre-race morning ever.  Nothing absolutely disastrous happened but it certainly wasn’t ideal.

I went to bed a little later than I aimed to the Saturday night before the race and ended up taking a Zzzquill without much time to get my zzz’s in. In typical fashion, I promptly snoozed and cancelled all three alarms I set.

I was supposed to catch the first train in to the city – but woke up exactly when I was supposed to boarding it. Ack! Luckily I had laid out all of my clothes and running gear the night before. I grabbed my stuff, shoved most of a Clif Bar in my mouth, and dashed our the door. I froze in terror when I realized I didn’t have a chance to drink my morning coffee.

(Runners…you know what that means.)

Alas, I had to soldier on and sprint to the metro. I looked like a big ole’ dummy with my drawstring backpack bumping along my back, running faster than my usual mile pace while burping Clif Bar. There was NO WAY I was going to make it to the race on time. I totally would have bagged it if it was just me, but I was running with friends – and I couldn’t let them down! If only there was a way get to Capitol Hill faster.

I saw a blue cab go by and shouted out loud. “A cab!!!” I had forgotten that cabs exist. The driver saw my panic and pulled a quick U-turn. I was so relieved when I got into that damn cab. He got me there right on time, though unfortunately the cab ride cost more than my race entry fee.

Once I found my friends I had calmed myself down and was good to go. The race site was hoppin’ and the weather was gorgeous.

The only issue was the whole bathroom thing. There were definitely not enough porta potties for the amount of people that were participating. I seriously think this will be a factor in my decision to do the race again, as silly as that sounds. If I do run it next year I’ll just have to make sure to wake up early enough to find a nearby Starbucks bathroom first.

The gun went off as I was almost to the front of the line. I couldn’t believe the race was starting and I was still waiting for a darn porta potty. I toyed with just running away versus sticking it out. Other people were still running through the starting line, so I thought I wouldn’t be that late….

I ended up starting eight minutes into the race clock with mostly stroller goers, little kids, and training groups. That in itself is totally fine since I’m obviously not speedy or anything. But I truly loathed the fact that I felt like I was trying to catch up to the main pack for the entire race. I wasn’t even WITH the people running as slowly-fast as me. I was with the walkers.

After the race, Diana said “well at least you caught up to everyone, right?!” Nope. Even though I ran through the entire race, those who were doing the walk/run tactic still stayed with me.

I didn’t want to be with the walk/runners, I wanted to be with the slow ass joggers!!!

#spoiledbratraceproblems

My mood finally turned around in the third mile or so when I saw the super fast people winners coming back the other way. So cool! Always my favorite to see the leaders because it is so motivating.

And ironically, the super fast people make me feel better about running slowly. Because even though I was at the back with the slowest and not even the kind-of-slow…I was reminded: WHO CARES? I’m running and I’m doing it and that’s all that matters.

Oh – and the FUN and FRIENDS part. I loved seeing them on the course!

After the race, we headed down to Eastern Market and got brunch, which Stephy agreed was obviously the most important part of the day. One of the benefits of running is the lessened guilt in ordering and stuffing my face with deliciousness. In this case, deliciousness of the cinnamon-gooey kind.

A hellish race morning ended with a an overall okay 6.2 miles down and a few little big slice(s) of heaven.

#trainingfail

I could highlight the reasons I haven’t stuck to the training plan for the Capitol Hill Classic (no running outside re. pollen, food poisoning, busy because this, that, etc) – but really it’s probably just because I have been a lazy motherf@#$%# lately.

But what can ya do?

I tried to run with some speedy girlfriends the other day and couldn’t keep up. 😦 I pouted and expressed my concern about this Sunday’s 10K. Maaaybe I should just scratch the whole thing and cheer for my friend(s) on the sideline instead.

But one of my GFs knocked some sense into me and suggested, “why not just run/walk it?”

Oh yeah.

I guess I’m so caught up in the self doubt and loathing that I sometimes forget the point of doing these races (for me). It isn’t to run omg-so-fast and beat my last time.

I run:

1. To be healthy(ier)

2. For fun

No need to waste the entry fee just because I’m going to be slow as shit. Who cares? At least I’ll be out of bed and covering 6.2 more miles than I would otherwise.

Therefore, the plan for this weekend’s race is to run at a pace that is comfortable so that I can trot run the entire time. I’m not going to look at my past times, I’m not going to compete. I’m just going to RUN and HAVE FUN.

To get through it, I plan to stop the deprecating self-talk (just one more!)…

(source)

….repeat some mantras

(source)

…..and listen to come kick-ass pump up music.

A new running playlist always does the trick!

It’s totally normal go through cycles in your fitness and have some ups and downs.

Hopefully I’ll be able to use this current lack of fitness as a positive starting point for the summer. I want it enough now to commit again!

Tell me:

Do you go through periods of not really training like you should? What do you do to re-motivate yourself?