Race Report: Monster Dash 8k

I ran a race today. Did I mention that before? Probably not because I didn't intend to really 'race' it, but once I got there - well, you all know what's up. Pre-Race Since I didn't intend to race this I wasn't really too into race prep. I didn't wear my racing flats, I wore brand new shorts that I took the tag of that morning, and I didn't really take my usual pre-race routine before I left the house very seriously. The race was local. Very local. As in the start was literally right in front of the running store that my running group runs out of. I left the house 40 minutes before the race start. Got to the running store, said my hellos, shot the shit for a few minutes the headed out for my warm up. I did a short run, a few plyos and a couple of strides. Just over a mile. Then I was off to the start. Race So once the race started I got sucked in. I knew right away I was totally racing this for the best PR I could get. I ran the first half just under a 9:00 pace. At the turn around I was starting to fade but I didn't want to hit the wall so I slowed down a bit. Then when we had just passed the 1 mile mark guess what happened. A cop stopped the runners to let cars pass through an intersection. WHAT?! Oh, I was soooo mad. I was totally going to bust that last mile like I never ran a mile repeat in my life and boy was I pissed when I had to stop like that. Grrrrr. I totally understand that cars needed to go...blah, blah, blah, and if I weren't an athlete I probably wouldn't have understood...ONE FREAKN` DAY! One day. UGh. So anyways, that kind of pissed me off but I still finished strong. I got to the home stretch which was about an 800 meter dash around a corner and kicked it up about 20 notches. I totally chicked one poor bastard and then another. The second guy I heard literally sprinting after me and I was like, "Hell NO" and really let it rip. He didn't pass me and it was one of the best finishes of my life because of it :)! Post race Since it was such a small event (wasn't even chip timed) I just hung out at the running store with some of my fellow peers. Despite the forced stop at the last mile, I loved this race. I'm disappointed a bit because I hit the lap button on my garmin after we stopped at the intersection (when I realized it was going to be more than a quick minute at least) plus after my crazy ass sprint finish I forgot to stop my watch directly after so my splits are inaccurate, but this is my best guess 8k time. 45:00 minutes (conservative, rounded up estimate) 9:03 av pace/169 bpm (based on 45 minute finish time) That's an 11 minute PR!!!! Ok, granted the one and only other 8k I've ever run I was still a little drunk from drinking boxed wine the night before (yeah, not my proudest moment), but still. Yay!! I'm totally cool with that because I wasn't training for it, and more importantly, I was less than one month out from running a marathon.

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In other news I got my training plan for November. Project Suck IT: The Sequel is on!! Also, since almost all of you reprimanded me for 'quitting' the wine (actually, it was more like detoxing) you'll be happy to know I'm celebrating tonight. Wine and ice cream bars all around!! Happy Halloween!!!