This race was the weekend before Halloween so of course I needed a costume. But running 13.1 miles in a costume....it must be comfortable. My friend Denise and I dressed as Finn and Jake from the cartoon Adventure Time. I bought my favorite type of running skirt from runningskirts.com in gold and a tank that matched. I finished my ensemble with a yellow Jake hat.
Our group of crazy costume runners including a zombie cheerleader |
Again, I had the goal of a PR. The weather was cool, I was well rested and hydrated. The race started and I took my time with the first mile, running about a 10:15/M pace to really warm up. I've learned that if I take off too fast, my energy is zapped. After the first mile, I picked up my pace.
We ran in and out of some small Port Richey parks. I liked seeing people run past me in the opposite direction (both ahead and behind me on the course). The costumes kept my interest and I was able to cheer for my fellow runners.
At the first fuel stop, they handed out chocolate PowerGel. I ate it reluctantly, not enjoying it at first but then I grew to like the chocolate. I definitely felt the boost of energy whether it was the caffeine or sugar/carbs that my body needed to keep going. I ate another one later on the course. Yum!
At about mile 7, I caught up to my costume buddy, Denise. We ran a little ways together but I was in the groove so I pulled ahead and kept going strong.
At mile 9, with 4.1 miles left, I looked at my Garmin to check my PR status. The time was 9:41 am, yes, time of day. I had it in my head that since the race started at 8:00 am, I needed to finish before 10:14 am to beat my Gasparilla Half PR. I thought to myself, "I can't run 4.1 miles in 30 minutes...so no PR for me, oh well, too bad, but that's weird because I've felt great during this race." I continued to run a nice pace even though I didn't think I'd PR.
At about mile 11.5, I looked at my Garmin again. This time I looked at race time instead of time of day. I had been running for 1 hour and 53 minutes! With 1.6 miles left, I was definitely going to PR. I had such a dumb moment at mile 9! The race didn't start on time at 8:00am. What was I thinking? Why would I look at time of day?!
I got a PR by 6 minutes 45 seconds!
My friend Maribel also PRed! |
Photo by Denise |
Overall place: 87/228
Female place: 42/143
Age Division place: 8/26
Average pace: 9:47/M
Gun time: 2:08:04.4
Chip time: 2:07:51.1
Race #16 for 13 in 2013.
Have you ever run in a costume?
Congrats on your PR!! That's fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteYou looked so great out there! STRONG AND FAST and a very well deserved PR! So proud of you!!! Onto Space Coast half! Let's do it!
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