rock and run 8K.

If you live in Kansas (or around the plains/midwest) this is a given. It. Is. Hot. I mean stupid hot. And as humid as a rain forest or jungle. And no, I'm not exaggerating (who says i EVER do that, come on now), native Kansans back me up here. The point is, it's hot and humid and just simply gross running weather. Period.

That said, the weather (despite the name of my blog) won't keep me from a race... well for the most part. Last Saturday, June 19, the YMCA was putting on a Rock and Run 8K, a distance I mentioned I had never done. Hello automatic PR, why yes I will welcome you into my life right now. I have to say, I loved this distance. It was a fun race, with bands every mile, that ran through a nice neighborhood then into a nature preserve along paved trails. Our YMCA's put on a few races every year, so they know what they're doing, which is nice.

I wasn't expecting a lot out of myself on this one, I just wanted an excuse to get to another race, because I love them. Especially shorter distances. It didn't disappoint. I even saw my personal trainer from last summer and then met up with some running buddies. I love seeing people at races, it's part of the fun for me. It was overall just a nice low-key happy racing morning. I loved it.

As for the actual race? I predicted my race time almost exactly. Now that's good! It's been established I don't run well in heat, humidity and when I'm tired. So I wasn't expecting much from myself. I predicted I'd run it in 40:00 and what do you know? I ran it in 40:05. Totally happy with that considering the lack of sleep I had leading up to the race and the weather. No complaints though. My new running attitude is really doing it for me, making me quite happy.

Other than the fact that it was hot, humid and a flat and pretty course, there isn't much to say. I did tell myself to focus on running through the water stops, which I did. That's something I've never been able to pull off in a race before, so I gave myself gold stars. I knew if I stopped I wouldn't start again, I was quite miserable from mile two on. I will say I think a LOT of runners out there were quite miserable Saturday, I passed quite a few people that last mile, and I'm not sure that would have happened if everyone was feeling great that day.

So yeah, it was pretty brutal out there. As I was finishing I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the super fast dudes stopped just yards before the finish line puking his guts out. Literally. It was disturbing. He must have felt awful to stop that close to the finish line and still be doing that when I was finishing. I felt horrible for him. But I won't lie, that was the first race where I can honestly say I myself felt like I was going to toss my cookies, something I've never done before during or after a race. I bet I just jinxed myself....

*the girls: liz, shelley, myself, the lawyer pre-race*

In the end my stats were:
OT 40:05

5th in my AG (30-34)

54/299

I'll take it. It was a fun (yet somehow miserable) race!

*side note: i was supposed to run the "hammer it 5K" this past weekend and meet up with oz runner there. i just didn't have it in me to do the race, i was exhausted and had a week and knew i wouldn't enjoy it. so instead of racing i got some much needed sleep and rest, and just ran five miles on my own later that day. at least i'm accepting my limits and didn't race. gold star no. 2 for this girl