I mean, I already paid so I might as well

It wasn't until I headed to the start line that I realized I haven't run in a 10k race before. Not as if that fact mattered to me but when I was thinking back on previous races to base this race on, there weren't any to reference. Of course after the race I remembered that I ran a training 10k in my neighborhood and do have a 10k time to aim for. But before I started my Garmin I knew that this race would not be a record breaker. Aside from the heat that was already rising at 6 o'clock in the morning, I was having some "female issues". 

A pattern has risen with me for almost every race I've been in for a little over a year now. Without getting too personal, my monthly visitor seems to always make an appearance either the day of or the day before a race. Overall I don't feel horrible but I've started getting debilitating migraine headaches and sore hamstrings. So it would only be fitting that this race would be the same. I mean why stop a tradition now that it's really gotten underway, right! :)

The day before the race I started feeling sluggish and my cramps were coming on strong. I plopped on the couch to take a breather and ended up falling asleep. When I woke up I felt worse than I did before my nap. I will say that I've never felt refreshed after a nap. Maybe because I take too long of a nap. As I was setting up my clothes I wondered if I was really going to race at all. I set my alarm and decided that I would make the decision once I got up.

Once my alarm went off I felt good but not 100%. I knew that although I was feeling alright at that moment, once the day started chugging along I would feel progressively worse. There hasn't been a situation just yet where I've felt so bad that I decided to skip out on a race. With the time and money that goes into all these races, I would have to feel pretty bad to not run. Fortunately for me I had my racing buddy with me. Danielle and I are a part of The Fit Moms Club in Palm Beach and the Wellington Runners Club. We've been working out and running together under one year.

Our paces are close enough that we run and chit chat during races. We've worked out a system (without planning it) that we can work off of one another to get through the tough parts of the race and finish strong. Without her there I don't think I would've been able to run as well as I did because after about three miles my head started pounding. Six miles is a very comfortable distance for me but I just wasn't feeling it for this race and I really had to focus. 

After we hit four miles I told Danielle that we were going to kick it up a notch. I was ready to be done with this race, eat some breakfast and go home to take a nap. I pushed it hard and finished with an overall time of 54:58. Sweet! And I must say that out of all the bling that I've received for various races, this one is certainly the prettiest. 

We also got a pink boa. 

After the race my family and I got some breakfast and I parked myself on the couch where I lived for the next two days. My headache got worse to the point where moving even hurt. I'll be really happy when this trend completely runs its course. But headaches aside, I had a great time at this race and look forward to running it again next year.