Race Recap: Army Ten Miler

Wow!! What an amazing time at the Army Ten Miler yesterday! I have only a few pictures from yesterday and those are in thanks to Katy! She was a volunteer and I was more than thrilled to see and get a hug from her at the end!

Going into the Army Ten Miler, I had very low mileage and had no idea what to expect, but I knew I would finish. Not finishing was never an option. I knew I could do 10 miles, especially after doing 13.1 last year. I was scheduled to work the night before (a closing shift) and was not looking forward to not getting home until after 11, but I just did it. Complaining was going to get my nowhere. I got home after work and did not end up in bed until midnight. Then, I made a stupid decision and started reading. I was near the end and I had to find out the fate of Thad Roberts. Book Review of Sex on the Moon coming soon. I finally shut my eyes around 1am and was up again at 5am.

We arrived around 7:30ish and were herded out of the Pentagon Metro. Crazy packed! I also saw Theodora and Anne once we got outside, but I was too nervous to say hi.

*This is where I say mad props to the volunteers! There were people, like Katy, already heading to the Pentagon before I was even awake! The volunteers rocked!! The cute Army men did, too!! *

I said goodbye and good luck to my dad so he could find his corral and I went in hunt for the bathrooms. The lines were crazy and I was almost to the front when I heard that there was no toilet paper. Forget that! I had a bladder of steel and can wait. I sort of found my wave and just hung out for awhile. We finally got out and on our way around 8:20ish. I had a fairly good pace going on and was approached about .75 miles in by a lady named Linda. We ended up sticking together until the very end. It was nice to have a partner. She pushed me. I pushed her. It all worked out.

I took water/gatorade at every stop, but was feeling pretty water logged by the end of it. Maybe a new strategy for next time. So, here are the splits from yesterday.

I had to take a quick bathroom break around mile 4 and forgot to start up the Garmin again right away. Let me just say, I was never more thrilled to see a port-a-potty. I thought I was going to pee on myself. So much for that bladder of steel.

The end was slower than I would have liked. Things were getting tougher and there were some nice “rolling” hills at the end. I must admit, it felt amazing going across that finish line and I almost started crying. It just felt really good.  I found Katy (she actually found me by saying my name and crossing her fingers it was me )

Thanks to Katy for the photo!

I also learned my lesson after the Half-Marathon and made sure to actually eat something after the race. There was no way in heck I was going to let my blood sugar get so low like after the half. I was miserable and did not want a repeat, so I grabbed a marathon bar, energy beans, and some more water. There was also a bagel I slowly ate on the way back to the metro. Side not, I still felt guilty eating all of that. Any remedies to help with that mental game? I did not feel like I needed to refuel. Stupid, right?

We ended up meeting up with some people I knew for brunch and then headed back to shower and nap.

My finishers coin after a shower and nap!

My official finish time was 2:21:49. I am kind of meh about this time, but when I look at this compared to my half, I know I could have taken a lot of time off my half. I’m not feeling to bad physically, either. My knee caps hurt, a little, but good. I am still working out this week, but I will plan on taking it easy the next few days.

So, overall, I am happy that I did pretty good on my first Army Ten-Miler, but there is a ton of work to be done! I cannot wait until my next Army Ten-Miler!