Middlesex Community College 11th Annual $cholarship Road Race

Somehow I let my friend talk me into running a 10K this past weekend. I figured that even though I've been running only once a week (at best) it would be fine. I managed to run 6.2 a few weekends ago, with lots of walking, and it worked out great! So why not? I knew since I wasn't fit there was no pressure for setting a new PR. No pressure at all, other than to enjoy the day and make sure I cross that finish line! Seemed like a great idea! Plus there was a large group of us (all horse people too as it turns out).
So we arrive there early to register and of course get a pre-race photo:

I was running amongst a group of actual committed runners. Or at least committed to this race. They hadn't forgotten about it like I had. (Oops.) That's ok though, as I said, nothing to prove! My friend and I had also scoped out previous results. Only 23 people had run the 10K last year. VERY little pressure!
We figured out pretty quickly why so few people run this race. It's basically mislabeled as a road race. What it really is paved mountain climbing. Seriously. About a quarter mile in, we climbed our first mountain. I ran half of it, walked the rest. Then we had some downhill. That was lovely! And then it was mountain after mountain after mountain! With very little downhill... how does that even happen? What goes up, must come down... right?! Well yes. And down it went! All at once! Another turtle paced runner  walker commented it might be faster to tuck and roll at this spot. She had a valid point. But we trotted on. It went up again, but not as much thankfully. The best part? We got to finish downhill so I could pretend like I was running all strong at the end. Also great? Everyone from my group had long since finished and were all there to cheer me in! Yay for support at the end!
This was literally the hardest race I've run. And not just because I'm not fit. The rest of the group all agreed. It was torture! I'm pretty sure none of us will be back. But you know what? I'm still glad I did it! I wasn't fast:

But considering how much walking I did, I'm not disappointed with that time.
I think my group was happy to have completed it as well. Everyone placed in the top three in their age group! (except me, I was 5th. Potentially out of five... I'll have to look that up!)

Did you run a race this weekend? Was it mountainous? Run happy friends!

Virtual Pug Run

Back in August, Jenn from Runs With Pugs blogged about a virtual Pug Run which was a benefit for the IL Pug Rescue. I got a view of that medal and couldn't resist signing up! I was feeling super motivated back then apparently as I signed up for the 10K. I figured there was plenty of time to get it done, since we had until October 15th. Well, let me tell you, October 15th showed up out of nowhere! I have been running VERY inconsistently. Like sometimes twice a week, sometimes once, and often not at all. Not so good with a 6.2 mile run to accomplish!
As the deadline drew closer, I was starting to wonder if I would be able to do it. I thought maybe I'd count two 5K runs on different days as my 10K. Or maybe I'd just not do it. It's not exactly official being a virtual run. No requirements to post a time or anything. But then I thought how lazy that is. I paid my money and would be getting that Mystical Pugicorn medal, so I needed to do something to earn it! (Hey, motivation! Nice to see you!)
I had the time and gumption to head out last Sunday. But I knew two things: this would not be fast and there would be much walking. In an effort to just head out and enjoy the time, I picked a scenic route with a fair amount of hills. (If I was going to walk, it would at least be uphill!)
I started heading down my usual morning running route. It takes me out near the lake, which I must say is GORGEOUS this time of year:

For my morning 3 milers (that I haven't done in how long?!) I run out this street for 1.5 miles and then turn around and head back. For my 10K, I instead headed into our state forest, passed another lake,

and took a trail that would spit me out on a main road near my house.

The trail was paved with asphalt at some point in time, but is now very broken up. I walked a lot of the early part of the trail as it goes up, up, up, and then up a little more. I got to see some horses too! (People trail ride here.)

Once back on the road, I crossed onto a smaller side street, and again walked some uphills. I saw more horses, and a guy riding his bike with his dog running ahead (on a leash, he was responsible!).

I had planned to head straight on this road until it ended. At the end, it turns into a dirt road, that takes you down someone's driveway and let's you out on my street. But I was hoping to not take any more walk breaks, and the uphill to that dirt portion was taking a toll! I decided instead to take another side street that would still let me out on my road, but with less hills. The rest of the run was all down hill (woohoo!) so I was able to finish strong.
My Garmin failed me on this run, as it seems to have forgotten where I live and never located any satellites. Is there anything more annoying than staring at this:

But I did make a mental note of the time I left and the time I finished. It took me 1 hour and 11 minutes. I really wish I knew the splits so I could get an idea of my running pace, but whatever. That part really isn't important given my lack of fitness! I know my total average was around 11:27 which is pretty impressive all things considered! The most amazing part? I wasn't even sore the next day! I think my new Mizuno's are the magical reason for that, plus being smart about the hills.

I'm so glad I dragged myself out for this run. The foliage was beautiful, I had some lovely scenery, and I felt super accomplished when it was finished.
Have you ever run a distance you weren't really fit enough for? Did you push yourself to the max, or take it easy like I did?

Stridebox!

I'm totally late in posting this, it's been sitting on my counter for almost two weeks already! But anyway, let's see what was inside the July Stridebox!

Info Card:

So many goodies in here! The summer box has become my favorite because it's SO FULL!

Edibles:

Bonk Breaker: I haven't tried this one yet, but it's blueberry flavor so I'm pretty sure it will be yummy!

I LOVE Honey Stinger waffles. I keep meaning to order some to keep on hand, but never seem to remember to do it. I'm excited to try gingersnap, I bet it's YUMM-O!

Salted watermelon GU?! This just screams summer. I'm not so sure I'll like it, but I really want to! Generally I don't like the fruit flavored GU's, I'm more into the ones that taste like frosting. But I do look forward to giving it a shot.

Other stuff:

Cute, patriotic "RUN" Stickers. So festive!

Anti-chafe gel! Yes please! A must have for summer running, that's for sure!

Hydration (aka the best part this month!):

See that awesome bottle?! We got a similar one last year that was blue, and it's one of my FAVORITE water bottles! I like that it's a not huge, and the flip top actually closes securely which is rare! So not only did we get this awesome bottle, but it was stuffed full of yummy hydration options (and it's own mini info card)!

That's a lot of yummy options! Let's look closer:

Ok so this one wasn't in the bottle, but it was in the box. And it fit better here than anywhere else. I'm not super excited for this one, I'm not that into orange flavor, but I'll give it a try at least!

These Cocogo packets are coconut water with raspberry and coconut water with grape. I'm interested to taste these.... I keep trying to like coconut water, but I really just don't. But maybe these will be better since they are mixed with other flavors.

Zym is a tablet. I'm excited to try this one, it's Grape!

We've gotten Nuun before, and I first tried them at the Boston Marathon Expo a few years ago. They're pretty delicious, very light flavor and just a hint of fizz to them.

So that's the July Stridebox! If you're interested in trying it click here and sign up! It's $15 per month, and as you can see definitely worth the money! You can scroll through my old posts as well to see what other boxes had in them. There is no referral program that I'm aware of, I just really love this box so I'm sharing with you readers!