Race Recap: Vets Day 5k in Destin

I really wanted a redo on my Halloween 5k. I thought I had a better race in me. Two people suggested I run the Free to Breathe 5k at Sandy Creek. And I really considered. But I had plans to visit my sister in Florida that weekend.

WHICH RACE TO DO
I eyed two races in Destin. I didn’t sign up in advance in case something happened and I didn’t go on the trip or didn’t want to race.

One race was closer to their house, but it seemed like a bit of a party. (I think finishers got three beers). The other race was at the American Legion and benefited veterans. Since it was Veterans Day and seemed like a more serious race, I opted for that one.

1. This bib is awesome
2. I was representing Athens in my patriotic tank

(My race prep was driving on Thursday and not being able to run and being busy with vacation stuff and not running on Friday, and not eating any donuts or fried food.)

The race started at 8 a.m. I left their house at 7 a.m. (and brought my brother). I got there at 7:15 and parked next door. I registered. The price went up to $35 (boo) and they were out of shirts. (oh well). I pinned my bib and did a warmup. Maybe 300 people in this race? (Also the bib had a flag on it. Super cool).

We all gathered in the parking lot, only most people guessed wrong for where to start, so we all had to shift. And the race started.

THE RACE
The race was an out and back, with one turn repeated. So very straight and very flat. The temperature was 60, so perfect for racing. (A little cool during the warm up, but I was warm after running half a mile).

It took me a second to get on 7:15 pace for the race. I tried to hang with a tough looking older guy. I passed him. I kept with my pace and my first mile 7:10, which was perfect.

In mile 2, I passed A LOT OF PEOPLE. I passed a lot of women and girls who were breathing really hard. (Which always makes me more conscious of my breathing. I try for it to be controlled, where I’m working hard but not dying.) Also it was WINDY. (Windy and 60 is preferable to windy and 46.) That second mile was the worst of the wind.

We hit the turn around. I saw one woman WAAAAAAAY ahead of me. There was no catching her. But by the halfway point, I’d passed all the other women and didn’t see another woman ahead of me (coming the opposite way on the out and back.) I really didn’t want a woman to pass me.

I should add that they closed one lane of this road, so there were cars driving down the middle of the road, since they wanted us running with traffic (not in the same lane).

Mile 2: 7:09. Right on pace I was happy with that.
And then mile 3 starts. And I’m counting down how much I still have to run. It hurts. Oddly, it was my arms that were bothering me. They were sore and heavy. (This has never happened to me before). And then it was my lungs (it was hard to breathe). But I told myself I could do this and I ran and ran, and counted my steps down.

1 mile left to go. .8 miles left to go. .5 miles left to go. And so on.

My watch got to 3 miles. And I didn’t see the finish. I didn’t have much left. A guy came up behind me, but didn’t pass me. The kid who I’d run with in mile 2 but passed, passed me. He was like 12, so I was fine with that and didn’t have the speed to catch him.

Finally I did see the finish. And I didn’t have as much of a sprint as I normally do. The clock timer said 22:25 when I crossed. Which is a few seconds faster than my last race. I thought I’d run a better race than that, but that’s 8 seconds faster so I was happy with it.

POST RACE
My brother was actually at the finish. They’d put him to work. All the finishers got dog tags instead of medals, which I thought was pretty cool. He was handing them out.

He had my water at the finish. Yay. I was spent. And I had nothing left at the end, so I went hard and even? But I didn’t know what my last mile was. I hadn’t looked. I heard my Garmin beep but didn’t recall the time. And it took a few minutes for my Garmin and phone to synch so I could see my splits.

7:10
7:09
7:15. I lost 5 seconds on the last mile. That’s not bad!

And the race ended up being 3.15 miles.
My Garmin said 22:11 for 3.1, which I’ll take. And makes more sense given my splits and because I did speed up some at the very end. After 3, I averaged 6:10 to 7 flat pace.

My brother said they didn’t have the timer set correctly when the race started. He said it like 90 seconds before it started and they guessed what the time was. !!! What!?!

“Was I second woman?” was the second thing I asked after asking for my water. He said I was, and I was probably in the top 20 (16th after the results posted). (First place woman ran in the 18s, and apparently wins every race in the area.)

I ran a cool down mile (mid 8s) and still had energy and my legs. And worried that maybe I didn’t go hard enough since an 8:26 mile was easy for my post-race recovery.

#merica. Running a Veterans Day race in a patriotic shirt
and posing in front of a tank. 

MEDALS, ETC
Post race they had weird food. I didn’t even know there was food until I saw someone with a plate and went inside. There was a roasted red pepper soup, pickles, cookies, cuban sandwiches and Jimmy Johns.

I wanted a banana and a granola bar. My stomach was UPSET. I couldn’t eat soup. I tried the Jimmy Johns, but think it was ham not turkey. I finally found a granola bar an hour later.

I figured I would get a medal, so I’d hang around for the medal ceremony. That took forever. I think they started the ceremony at 10 a.m. Two hours after the race started.

Also this was my first Florida race, so I wasn’t sure how it would be different.

• They took the bottom of my bib at the finish (like they did in high school)
• There was no leaderboard with notecards so I could see place anywhere
• The had some different categories. They had awards for walkers, and I think they had the overall awards, masters (40+), grand masters (50+) and senior grand masters(60+), which I feel is one more category than I’m used to. These winners got cool mugs. (I was sad I didn’t get a mug. They were glass beer mugs with an American flag on them)

I got a medal for winning my age group (nothing for second overall). And slipped out shortly after that.

PARTING THOUGHTS
Ultimately, I am HAPPY with the race.

21:11 or 22:25, whatever. It’s a faster race. A PR.

It was an even race. Mile three was hard, but 25 seconds faster than two weeks ago. I wasn’t dying like I was then. I think I need to train longer so mile 3 isn’t as hard.

I think that might be my last 5k of the year unless we get some really warm weather. I might focus on 10ks, if I have the time. I want to get my 10k time down.

A sub 22 5k will be the goal for 2018.

Week off running

Ozzy approves of naps and running less

Well, it's been a good few months of upping my miles, but I'm taking the next week off running. I've got the beginnings of shin splints so I want to see if a week off helps.

I've been worried about them for a few weeks.

I got the first pain a month ago. It was the first week I ran 30 miles—and probably too many miles on road. So I've been running more trail miles and decreasing my miles. It's not horribly painful yet, but I don't want it to get worse, so time off. I won't lose fitness in a week (I think) so I'll take the week off, and go to the doctor if necessary.

I blogged about a little bit of pain after the week I was in Florida. I had some pain after my nine mile run.

And last week, I ran 7 miles in the morning and then noticed the pain while walking around shopping afterwards. I took it so easy this week. I ran 10 miles. I scaled my miles way back. There was a little bit of pain during my five mile run, mild and at the beginning. But that's the only time it's hurt during my run. It usually hurts after my run.

Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate. Or is that C for cat?

It's just an ache. I can take anti-inflammatories and I don't notice it at all.

I ran a race yesterday. No pain during the run. Some afterwards. It's achey. I feel like the front of my leg is bruised.

I feel like I did what I should have
• I run in new shoes from the running store (gait analysis done. I love the shoes!) So it's not worn out shoes.
• I followed the 10% rule ramping up my mileage. I was very deliberate (so hopefully not too much, too soon)

I do worry about calcium. I take a calcium supplement, but I worry about my bones since I don't eat dairy and haven't for 5 years. (I faithfully take a supplement.) I usually drink soy milk so I make but I've been extra diligent to make sure I drink a glass a day and get 100% of the calcium I need.

It could be road running? That I just need a break? Who knows?

In the mean time, I'm looking forward to a lazy week. And if it's still bad, I'll go see the doctor and see if I can use an anti gravity treadmill. At least if I miss running this summer, it's during the hottest part of the summer!

Workouts this week: June 26-July 2

June 26: OFF
Enjoyed my Monday off. Came home and took a nap.

June 27: Speed work X 2
Ran a mile for speed at 6:30 a.m.

Then did 6:30 p.m. track workout. The workout was warmup, 5 800s, then a cool down (with breaks in between).
After my mile, I didn't really want to do the last two reps, but decided to see how I felt.
• 3:27
• 3:27.9
• 3:30

And then I was basically done, but Matt told me I couldn't quit.
• 3:33. My legs were SOOOOOO Heavy on this one.
• 3:27. Ugh

(Also the track is long, so for .52 miles)

800 meters to cool down. That was HARD. I was so tired after that workout.

June 28: trail run

Did a trail run with the Athens Road Runners as part of the monthly trail series. It was white to orange trail at the Botanical Garden, which I've done once before. The goal today was SLOW recovery miles. And yep, ran 10:58s.

This trail is so steep, it's easy to run slow. I was pretty proud of myself for running the entire trail and not walking the hills. Thanks peer pressure, I wouldn't let myself do that.

June 29th: rainy run
My quads were sore. I was tired. Today I wanted a flat run. No hills. I ran by my house. And I started feeling better after I started running. (I think the tired feeling was from not getting enough sleep). The plan was to run 5.1 miles. Easy miles. Still on recovery. I hit 5.1 miles and the rain started POURING. I called Matt to come pick me up. No answer. And my phone wouldn't hang up. It's in a waterproof case but when the case is wet I can't touch buttons on the screen. So I walked the big hill and ran an extra mile back to the house. (I had planned to walk the last mile as my stretching post run.)

Good news: I bought a pair of new Nike Pegasus shield. They're designed for running in the rain. They're water resistant and extra grippy.

From Nike: Designed for use in rainy, wet conditions, these running shoes have a DWR coating on the mesh and Flywire uppers, as well as water-resistant booties to keep your feet feeling warm and dry. The grippy, high-abrasion outsoles offer traction and durability, while the Cushlon and Phylite midsoles are soft and responsive.

Verdict: They are indeed water resistant. My feet were dry and not sloshing in my shoes.

June 30: BodyPump + Speed
I went to 5:30 BodyPump. I DID NOT like the music for the 102 release. Ugh. It uses a lot of dumbbells. There are pushups. I did lunges with no weight.

Then I did some speed work from a workout from Nike.

Warmup mile
2 100 meter strides
1000 at race pace (4:12)
2 100 meter strides

The workout said cool down mile, but I was tired so I ran for 5 miles, which was a little more than half a mile. My Garmin doesn't track right on the indoor track.

Saturday: Failed long run
The goal was to run 8-9 miles. I skipped my long run last week. I went running today and my legs were tired. I walked in mile 2. And again in mile 3. At mile 4 I was ready to quit, but said I'd get to five miles. I could do that. At five miles, I willed myself to 6. At 6, I willed myself to finish a 10k, and then I willed myself to finish 7 miles. And that was that. I was hot and tired. And it was more than 4 miles. I was just tired.

Afterwards, I was feeling the twinges of shin splits when I was walking around that afternoon.

Sunday July 2: Progression run

I tried a progression run today. Which is weird for me since I like to rabbit my first mile and get slower. (Also I was only running 3 miles today. I'm slightly scaling back my mileage and tapering).
I ran my first mile 9:30, which is recovery pace for me.
Mile 2: 9 minutes.
Mile 3. 8 minutes.

I ran this on trails so I purposely made sure mile 3 was downhill. Not sure if I started too slow. I think I just forgot which part of the progression I was on for that third mile. So apparently I can do this. It was a challenge. I'd try it again.

**Starting to get shin splits. Had zero pain during the run. But my shins started to hurt after the run. So I iced and took so anti-inflammatories. I'll search what I should do, but I think it's the muscular kind of shin splints.

Also went to Sunday night yoga.

Car twin: my black and white mini, parked near a black and white FJ

Miles this week: 28

Days running: 6

Also 1 weights class, 1 yoga class

#mymile Breaking 7 minute mile part 2

One of my mini goals was to break 7 minutes in running a mile. I did it last week on an indoor track. I'm not sure if that really counts so I headed over to the  outdoor track to have it officially recorded in Strava.

I went before work one day, when the weather was in the 60s.

Woke up and 5:30 a.m. and was out the door around 6:15 (after doing the pet chores).

Perks of getting up early: beautiful sky and track to myself.

I walked a lap, ran a lap and stretched. (I feel better on fresher legs). I did the run solo. I was the only person on the track.

The goal was 6:55. But the track I ran at is a little long, so I didn't even know what my splits should be. 51-53 seconds per 200, I think.

I put some music on and ran. I checked my watch at 100 meters. 7:05 pace. Fine. Then for the most  of the rest I ran about 6:40 pace. I honestly tried to NOT check my watch that much. I sped up for the end (6:00 pace towards my Garmin). It felt like under 7 but I hadn't been checking my watch.

6:41:87. Strava said 6:39. The track is a little long. It was 6:49 to finish the last lap.

Thanks Garmin!

SUPER HAPPY WITH THAT. I'd felt like I could break 7 minutes if I was just running one minute. And today was the day.

I walked a lap and headed home to shower and go to work. I wasn't too tired. Felt great.

(Now I want to see how much I can get my mile time down! Especially if I run with a group. That competition might help) 

Breaking a 7 minute mile

I made a small goal for myself to break seven minutes for a mile.

I've run pretty close to 7 minutes on occasion (heck during a 10k I ran a 7:03). But never under it. I was always holding something back for more laps at track workouts etc.

But today was the day and I am so proud. (I don't care if I am bragging. I worked hard. This is exciting).

Today was a track workout: a ladder—1600, 1200, 800, 400

It was pouring rain—all day. It didn't look like it was letting up so we went to the indoor track to do the workout. The plan was to the workout WITH Matt. We're about the same speed.

Gym hair, (mostly) don't care

My plan was to run 7:10-7:20 for the first mile (5k pace). But Matt took off. I was at least 20 seconds behind him. I left him go and focused on running even splits, and as easy as I could (I still had the whole workout to do). I looked at my watch to see I was running 52-54 second laps on the 1/8th of a mile track. (55 seconds was the goal). I didn't look at the total time until the end 6:55:7.

I thought I was running at 7:10. but then again Matt was so far ahead of me, he must have run a 6:35 or so.

And I still had enough left in the tank to do the ladder progressively faster. (Thought since it was an indoor track my Garmin wasn't tracking the distance correctly )

I broke 6 minutes during my second year of running track. So it was something I was pretty sure I was capable of doing. But 34-year-old Sara and 17-year-old Sara aren't the same. (15 pounds)

Garmin splits for the workouts. First four splits are .25 miles, 2 laps on an 1/8th of a mile track. So fairly even splits (split 3 is a little slow).

1600: 6:55.7
1200: 5:06.5
800: 3:22
400: 1:26.5

And then a 9 minute cool down.

First group speed workout at track

Track selfie.

Today I finally tried speed workout at the track with some of the other Athens runners. Yay.

Going in to this, I had this first day of school feeling. This was my first track workout with a group since high school.

I showed up at the track and didn't know quite where the group met (by the 200 meter start, not the big starting line.)

We found the coach, did a lap for a warm up, did some stretching (not guided). There was four or so other guys there. One was a tall bodybuilder who said he wanted to run 3 miles in under 15 minutes. I just said I wanted to do well in the Marigold 10k in a month.

The workout was 400, 800, 400, 800, 400, 800, 400, with 1-2 minutes of break between each rep, more after the 800s, less after the 400s.

I told the coach I wanted to run 7:40 pace, so 1:55s for the 400s, and 3:50s for the 800s. He said to run the 400s a little faster and the 800s 5-10 seconds slower.

And we were off. I was at the very back of the pack. I was telling myself to run easy and consistently, and NOT go out too fast and burn myself out too early. (And NOT run with the boys though I wanted to. It was my first workout. I can be slow. And they can be thankful for the extra break.)

The coach did say to keep moving in the recovery. If others were walking, I did too. I should have been better about that.

The result: almost identical splits (which I'm super proud of.) I can usually do this in practice (yes, I do speed workouts by myself, the group is new for me), but not in a race. My pacing tends to be all over the place in a race.

Splits: 1:43, 3:40, 1:43, 3:42, 1:43, 3:40, 1:34

Which I think is 7:20 pacing. And I think I can sustain that for 2 miles. I want to get my 5k time, so maybe it's good to practice faster than race pace?

I ran a cool down lap. And honestly felt strong afterwards. (Also, it rained lightly during the workout. Very lightly. ) 

Today I tried a track workout, which was one of my goals for the year. I'd like to make more running friends. (I don't really remember people's names, except there was a fast girl name Sally and a redhead named Jean. More people showed up to practice late. I was happy for the company. Maybe 8 people? So not super intimidating.)

Running buddy.

As we were walking back to the car, I told Matt I wanted Grindhouse burgers (it's about a block away from the track. I love their turkey burgers). He told me I didn't deserve Grindhouse. HARSH.

He then clarified, that I didn't work that many calories, that maybe after one of our long runs, I'd deserve it.

Whatever. I was hungry and it's delicious. I went home and had salmon and kale, which is not nearly as fun.

Race Report: Half the Half (Chick Fil-A Half)

PRS and swag

Race prep
For years I've wanted to do the Chick Fil-A Half (well part of it anyway. I can't run 13.1!). Two years ago I didn't find out they had a relay option until the day before the race and it was too late to sign up. Last year they maybe they didn't offer the relay (there was a reason I didn't sign up), so I finally signed up this year.

I had intended to do the relay with my husband and we each run half of the the race. However, this year when I went to sign up, it was $10 cheaper for us each to do half the half. The same amount of running for $10 less? That's what I signed us up for.

And I've been training for this race since January. I've been gradually bumping up my mileage and following my own version of the Hal Higdon plan. I say it's my own version because I only run three times and week and do something between beginner and intermediate. I do speed work and I do a normal run, usually hilly trails. I did more than 6.5 a few times, I definitely trained for this race well and knew it could go really well.

The week of the race I cleaned up my diet. I ate a tad healthier than normal. No chips. Limited sweets. I didn't go out to eat. I didn't eat fried foods all week. (Even when we went to the new taco place that apparently has great fries.) There was even a baby shower at work the day before the race. I got a plate of cucumbers and grapes. I passed over cake and cookies. And let me tell you baby showers aren't as fun without cake and chips and dip. I even hydrated so well I almost peed my pants in yoga. Seriously, the last 15 minutes of class all I could think about was how much I had to pee and should I run out of class early. I took more off days with my workout too.

I did NOT eat this cake.

The morning of I got up at 5 a.m. and ate a Kind bar. I did a few minutes on the exercise bike to wake up my legs. I stretched. I got dressed. I decided on a hat that matched my crops. Maybe it was too matchy? I did my morning chores and we were out the door my 6:20 a.m. We walked to the race start. It was still dark. And I got really nervous.

There were 1500 people running this race. I HAVE NEVER run a race this big. I have never run a race this long. My running is high school track and cross country. 5ks are the longest thing I've run. And I've only run ONE since high school. I didn't see anyone I knew. There were so many people and I didn't know where to stand.

I ran into a few people I knew. Trae from Aerofit and the Lululemon runners. I had planned to run with the Lululemon girls. They were trying to get a PR for one of the girls at 8:15 mile pace. I figured that's about what I would run. I can run 8:40s on trails. 8 flat on the road for 3-ish. Maybe a tad slower for 6? I was somewhere between pace groups 1:40 and 1:50 so I decided to run with them. And that made me feel less nervous. Matt lined up more to the front.

7:15 a.m.
And then it was race time.

I didn't know how to start all my devices. #firstworldproblems

I wanted to run with Strava for splits. But the Strava app on my apple watch is the worst. You have to touch it to wake it up. The Apple watch has a run app—that's less accurate. So I turned on Strava on my phone and let it run as soon as the national anthem was done and then started the workout on my watch, paused it, and then resumed it when they said GO. Then a half mile in I told Siri to play run playlist and that was all of my million connections. For this race my Apple watch was dead on. It would buzz me exactly at the mile marker signs, so it tracked the distance identical to whoever set the course.

My goal was not to start the race too fast. Like I always do. Flat eight minute mile. I started to run with the Lululemon girls but then took off. Mile one was downhill and awesome. Mile two had a hill. It was okay.

I took some water on mile three because my throat was dry. (Who needs water in a 10k when it's not even hot!?)

On mile three I started feeling a little barfy. A girl in front of me walked. It planted that idea in my head. I didn't walk. I started thinking about barfing.

I saw my brother at around mile 3.5. The gave me some positive energy. He's a cop and was directing traffic. I yelled "HI LITTLE BROTHER" at him.

And then I hit a wall. I started feeling really bad. I felt barfy and wondered if I could drop out of the race for an injury. Did I need help? I just felt bad. I walked a few steps. People passed me. I started again. I hated myself for walking but I needed to.

And this was the part of the course I'd run before. The baby hill that was nothing on NEW legs, but on halfway tired legs, it was too much. I walked again when the hill was the steepest. I kept going.

I had barely glanced at my watch at all during the race. I glanced a few times and it looked like I was running 8 flats until that awful fifth mile. I didn't even glance long enough to see my elapsed time. (Didn't check my time until the end).

Once I topped that hill near Sanford and East Campus I was fine. I knew I only had a mile and change to go and I could do it. And it was all flat or down hill. Hooray! Bonus: They were parachuting cows off a bridge at mile 5 so I got one. And stuck it in my bra and ran. I kept watching my watch and planned to open it up at my 6 to finish strong my last .5 mile.....only I missed the end of the race.

There was a relay exchange zone at mile 6.1. I passed through a timer. The race clock wasn't operational and I was looking for the end of the relay exchange zone or another timer. So I ran to 6.55 and by that time I saw Matt running back telling me there wasn't the end of the race ahead. So I ran/walked back to the 6.1 marker.

(Matt was ahead of me the whole race. Maybe about 20 seconds? The plan was to catch him in the end and finish at the same time, but walking put him further ahead of me, so he finished in front of me.)

GRIPE
The end of the race wasn't marked. There was no sign that said END OF HALF THE HALF. There was no one yelling that the space was the end. There was no finish chute. Nothing. I was saving some speed I never got to use. Ugh.

There was also no shuttle. No one knew where it was so we walked back to the finish line to cheer on the runners. Which is fine. I needed to stretch out my legs.

But we got our medals. Yay!

RESULTS
I didn't know what time I ran because the clock over the "finish" wasn't operational. They didn't have place cards. There was some glitch with the chip timing. So I don't know what time I ran. I stopped my watch at 53 minutes and 6.66 mile when Matt told me to turn back.

I looked at my splits and Strava told me 7:58s for moving time. 8:05 when you figure in the time after I started Strava but before I started running.

My goal was just to finish the race. Under an hour would be nice. 8:15s would have been nice. But 8s. I THOUGHT maybe I could run that on a good day.

I was SUPER HAPPY with my time. I set all kinds of PRs.

This was
MY FIRST BIG RACE
MY FRIST ROAD RACE
MY FIRST 10K

My records:
Fastest 10k: 49:24 (I've run 10ks in practice before.) 
Best 2 mile: 14:49 (UNDER 15. This is something I've been shooting for!)
I ran a 7:15 mile today.
I ran a 5k in 23:27.

I did indeed go out too fast, but wow. The training really paid off. If I'd mentally been a little tougher, I could have taken at least 60 seconds off this time (for not walking). I hit that wall because I was pushing my limits. I was really pushing. (It's my first 10k so now I know I can do it.)

(Also it was cold. I have never run in weather this cold before. I kid you not. I'm super sensitive to cold weather. Apparently I can run in the cold. Yay! Not that I want to. I ran in long crops and a long sleeve shirt. At about mile 4 the long sleeve started to annoy me, so arm warmers maybe for another race this temperature?)

Splits: (look at all of these under 8!!)
7:16
7:32
7:49
8:09
8:57 (WALL. I walked. Ugh. I need to do more hills. Though I do a ton every week)
8:09
7:52 (Sigh, I saved up for an 800 meter sprint I never got!)

The race is huge. I didn't think we'd place. I didn't think there was any point for staying for the medal ceremony. And the kiosks with race times (which were cool) didn't have the half the half time on them forever. Matt thought he placed though. Finally right before the ceremony started, I put my bib in and it said 49:47. THIRD OVERAL. SECOND PLACE FEMALE.

You can see Matt grinning in the reflection.
And 7:36 is way off since the timer was at 6.1 or 6.2 not 6.55

"Fuck," I had to stop myself from saying. There was a nice old couple standing by us.

And then Matt put his time in and his was 48:11. Second place overall. First place male.

That, I didn't expect. But I've had good luck in picking races lately.

Pro tip: If you want to finish well in a race, pick a race with two length options. Sign up for the shorter length. The serious runners will take the longer route, and you'll place better in the shorter race. This has worked three times for me. (Last year's trail race, the trail race two weeks ago and today).

There were ~150 people in the 10k. And we did pretty darn good. (It's kind of fun beating the students. Not bad for two 30-somethings.)

I got my cowbell. And some coupons for free Chick Fil-A.

And there was a huge difference between first and second prizes.

Matt got a insulated bag, a lunch bag, $100 to Fleet Feet, 52 chicken sandwich coupons, a cow, gloves, a towel and probably some other goodies.

So overall a good return on our investment.

I'm super happy Matt had such a good race and raced so well. Yes, I'm a tad jealous he won all that stuff (without training as hard as me.) And I'd really wanted to reel him in at the end. But I raced my hardest (except for the walking. That was probably mental) and I'm happy having done the second race of my adult life and the longest distance.

The aftermath
I walked a ton after the race so I didn't stiffen up. My calves were still stiff and sore a few hours later. Matt said he thought it was from racing flats. They're super light weight. So minimal with no real support. I tried rolling my calves, exercise bike, vibrating massage, walking the dog. Still a little stiff. I forget what it's like to be tired after a race.

My splurge was a pizza from Your Pie and some strawberry M&M's.