Wamapanoag Old-Fashioned 10 Miler Race Report

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On Saturday, J and I drove the course to get a better sense of the race’s director’s definition of “rolling hills.” Well they didn’t lie – a nice fairly flat start and then the rolling began around mile 3 and continue through mile 6, but nothing dramatic. Mile 7 was one longer climb, but by 7.5 it leveled off to a nice flat finish.

OK so now I knew what I was in for, I had two simple goals for the race: 1) finish uninjured and 2) finish ahead of my 10-mile split from the Philly Half (1:53:48). The one thing that had me worried was that I felt horrible when I went to bed. Both my stomach and head had not been cooperating for the past couple of days – I just hoped that whatever it was would be gone by morning.Yeah well, no such luck!

I went through my usual morning routine but I was not doing well. At one point J even asked me if I was sure I was going to run, and for half a second I considered not going. But I figured, if all else fails, it would just be a slow training run. We picked up our numbers and chatted with people while waiting for the bathrooms (indoor ladies’ room – score!). It was warming up nicely so we went back to the car to dump our extra clothes and then I made a critical mistake – I took a GU.  By the time we did our warm-up jog over to the start, my stomach was doing flip-flops again. Uggh…here we go.

J’s plan was to stay with me for the first mile or so – this was his first time running 10 miles and he was worried about going out too fast (He ran a great race, by the way!!). But once we started I knew almost immediately that we were going too fast. I glanced at my Garmin around a half mile – 9:36…yeah too fast! We slowed just a little. By 1.5 miles I could tell he was itching to move a little faster so I told him to have fun and sent him on his way. As the rolling part of the course started I knew this was going to be more of a mental race than anything else – could I keep myself distracted from my stomach and headache enough to hold a decent pace? I tried to enjoy the scenic course and beautiful weather. I thanked volunteers, said hi to the little kids cheering, encouraged other runners and focused on my music (I was grateful for a new playlist!). The fresh air definitely was definitely helping my headache…the stomach was just angry!

I managed the hills well, but did need to briefly walk part of the final climb. Once I hit mile 8, I knew it was flat to the finish. Frankly, I was tired of feeling like I was going to throw up – I just wanted to be done! Somewhere along the final stretch I heard someone call my name – it was Jose from And So It Burns! He had already finished but ran along with me towards the finish. Alleluiah the finish! Garmin read 10.08 miles 1:51:35! J, Jose and I chatted a bit before he headed out – it’s always great to meet the people behind the blogs you enjoy! (Jose I’m so glad you found me and stopped to say hi!)

So I hit my goals  – no injuries (legs felt really good!) and a 2:13 PR despite feeling cruddy! Definitely a confidence boost with 4 weeks till RnR USA Half. All-in-all it was a good local race I would definitely run again!

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Comments

  1. This race was on my list, but alas the hip flexor injury derailed my plans. Great job on your brand new PR!!

  2. Congrats on meeting your goals! They really are a great confidence boost!!

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  4. Way to push through the stomach issues. Definitely not easy for runners to do. Congrats on the PR!

    BTW: deleted my first post accidentally, oops!

  5. Way to go hitting your goals! Sounds like a tough one… I am not a fan of hills!

  6. Congratulations Michelle! Great job hitting both of your goals!

  7. Great job!! Mile 7 was definitely a killer! I remember looking at it when I first saw it and saying “WTH!”….. You finished strong and did not look like someone that was ready to throw up :)….. You’ll be ready for RnR USAHalf!

    Glad I was able to spot you at this race! It was a pleasure meeting you guys.

  8. You’ve set yourself up for an awesome race in a few weeks! Congrats on the PR.

  9. Congrats Michelle! So nice to set goals and achieve them. Should be a nice confidence booster for RNR!

  10. Congratulations!! A PR even though you felt horrible, that is determination! You will rock the RnR USA Half!!

  11. Wow! A PR on a hilly course when you’re not feeling the best? Kudos to you girl. You’ll be great at your RnR race. Congrats!

  12. I ran that a few years ago and yes it is a challenge! Good for you. I recall a good spread after too:) Congrats.

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