I ran this last weekend in the HEAT, and had the best race ever! For one, it had a crowd of professional women that I respect leading the pack (Olympians and all!) It was under 5,000 women, and that's women only. Great way to race! I felt good the whole way, tho I started at the back as the woman I went with (another runner from my 'hood who races with me sometimes) had to use the bathroom last minute and we didn't get in our corral in time. I had to weave/bob the first 4 miles, and finally found my group/pace for the last 2. There were sprinklers, enough water stations, and patches of shade for sanity's sake. It didn't start till 9am, and the fog was burned off and humidity rampant by then.
The biggest/best thing about the race, aside from it being all women which I loved, was that I tried something new with my breathing. I was concerned about hydration and body temp, given the heat, so I only breathed thru my mouth for the first 4.5 miles. I used that to regulate my pace, and it worked wonderfully, and kept me extremely relaxed and centered. I let myself 'go' at close to 5 miles, and used up everything I had for the finish, sprinting as best I could for the last 1/4 mile. It felt wonderful!
I had a very sore abdomen on Sunday night, and I don't doubt it was from breathing that way. Then at the gym yesterday, a woman showed me how to do 'the plank' and I did 2 min before she told me to rest, apparently that's pretty great for a first try. It's a core exercise, and I could feel it in the same muscles I'd used to control my breathing and pace. That's actually when I realized my sore stomach was from the race. I've always tried to run from my 'core' and I'm finally getting the hang of some of it.
Oh, my time? 57:46, which I was pretty happy with given the heat, I think it's my best 10k time to date..
The biggest/best thing about the race, aside from it being all women which I loved, was that I tried something new with my breathing. I was concerned about hydration and body temp, given the heat, so I only breathed thru my mouth for the first 4.5 miles. I used that to regulate my pace, and it worked wonderfully, and kept me extremely relaxed and centered. I let myself 'go' at close to 5 miles, and used up everything I had for the finish, sprinting as best I could for the last 1/4 mile. It felt wonderful!
I had a very sore abdomen on Sunday night, and I don't doubt it was from breathing that way. Then at the gym yesterday, a woman showed me how to do 'the plank' and I did 2 min before she told me to rest, apparently that's pretty great for a first try. It's a core exercise, and I could feel it in the same muscles I'd used to control my breathing and pace. That's actually when I realized my sore stomach was from the race. I've always tried to run from my 'core' and I'm finally getting the hang of some of it.
Oh, my time? 57:46, which I was pretty happy with given the heat, I think it's my best 10k time to date..