Will Run For Thanksgiving Supper!!

No really! I will.

I was so happy when Thanksgiving weekend came around- not only was it a long weekend but it meant that another race day had rolled in!! The first time I started running- about 5 years ago, I had set my eyes on the Valley Harvest Marathon weekend as a MUST DO! However, I really felt like I need to be a way better runner to take part in such a run. And if you've read any of my other posts, you probably know that I've become a better runner and a healthier, fitter person! So when my trainer friend planted the seed of running in Valley Harvest, I got that pit in my stomach, the sweaty palms and asked at least 20 questions about the route, my abilities and so on.. followed by a hell yeah I'll do it!!

So there it was- my second 10k in the racing season.. a first for me. But I was so excited for that run! Think about something you've wanted for over 5 years.. but you couldn't have it for many reasons... many of those obstacles that were in my way were created by myself. But the day was here for me to crush all of those obstacles.

The race happened on a Sunday and that Thursday just before while I was at bootcamp my IT band felt like someone stabbed it. Given the catastrophic thinker I am, my first thought was... I'm ruined for the race on Sunday.
I stopped at my physiotherapist's office on my way home and literally begged for an appointment the next day... and thankfully he squeezed me in at 7am! I've never been so happy to have an appointment at that time!! I had several people trying to talk me down and say things like "there will be more races", "you could do 5k", "don't push to race and prevent yourself from running for months afterwards"... etc. Turned out to be a fluke injury that didn't impact the run! Thankfully!! But a lesson was learned.. (one can hope anyway).. the flare up was entirely related to my previous hip injury. So when a physio person says to do exercises... you should! Ha.

Icing and Tens Machine on the IT Band the night before :)

My fabulous trainer friend picked me up at 5:30 AM!! 5:30!! In the morning!!

Proof that it was dark o'clock.

The sun wasn't even up! Our races didn't start until 8:00 but we had heard that traffic the day before for the kids run was hectic and the construction on the highway backed everything up causing huge delays.. so being the planners we are, we needed to make sure we'd make it there in time. Murphy's Law- we made it there with zero delays and even had time for a pre-race rest in the car before picking up our kits.

We did get to see a pretty sunrise though...

It was oddly warm for an October morning... pretty sure it was around 15 degrees... at 8am! We made our way to the field to start warming up and getting ready to get underway. Because of the flare up with my IT Band, I was pretty focused on making sure that I was as warmed up for this run as I could possibly be... and that totally lead me to lose track of time.

Traditional pre race photo

I literally only had a couple minutes on the track before the gun went off. While I was finding my place in the line, I received the CUTEST audio message from my nephew to cheer me on...can't lie-  hearing the message and the combination of nerves and excitement I had... his boost of confidence totally made me tear up... which completely distracted me even more from getting my earphones in, Garmin signal found and just ready to run! So the gun went off and I was still trying to get ready for the run! Thankfully there were lots of people ahead of me, so all was in order by the time I crossed the start line!

Start line!

I have to say that most of the 10 kilometers went really well!! One thing I like about running races with people I know... is getting to see them throughout the race. I got to see a few familiar faces and give some high fives around the halfway mark. The first 8k went went off without a hitch! I hadn't had any hip or ITB pain, so I was feeling good! For the most part, I had no complaints until the 8.5 kilometer mark. At that point, I was tired, thirsty and I just wanted to see the finish line. The 8.5-9.5 part was a mental struggle. I started thinking that my legs were done, I was starting to (think) I hurt and that I was just going to have to walk the rest of the way. None of these things were actually true though! I had no pain! Legs were doing just fine... it was all mental. At just the very right moment, my power song came on and really, that was all I needed to get through the end of the race.
The thought of running in the Acadia University outdoor track/stadium caused me a lot of anxiety leading up to the race, but I have to say once I stepped foot on the track, it felt awesome. Obviously part of that is because I could see the finish line!! As I rounded the corner to the finish line- there was my trainer friend cheering me on and taking pictures. I also saw the current time on the race clock and I was coming in seconds under my Cobequid 10k time, so I kicked it up a gear and made sure to cross that finish line just a little faster! As a side note- I totally forgot that that time was the gun time, not when I actually crossed the start line, so I ended the race with a new PB of 1:03:37!

Nailed it!!!

I will definitely be participating in the Valley Harvest Marathon weekend again... who knows what distance, but I will be there! The route was great, the sights were fabulous and it was an extremely well organized event!