Friday night I remembered that the Plano Pacers running club was having their Dog Days 3x3K Relay race the next morning. I called up my training partner Sarah and suggested we do this race. Relays are normally not well-attended so our chances for an all-female team were good of there only being 3 in our divisions so we would win a medal or trophy. Yeah, that's exactly my thinking - it's easy to win if no one shows up. At my running pace, that's the only way you get a trophy. :-)
So Sarah thought it sounded fun, and I posted on Facebook that she and I would be out there the next morning. Jamie comments that she hadn't realized that race was tomorrow and was sad to miss out by realizing too late. I invited her to be our third leg! Crazy thing was that I had run this race last year and talked to Jamie while I was there. We had a mutual friend so I had met her a couple times, but exactly a year ago, I still barely knew her. And now we're such closer friends, it's so neat to be able to measure that growth in friendship!
So Team Heels and Hills descended on the race Saturday morning in our matching hot pink shirts!
I was first leg, 3K each leg. I raced hard and completed my leg at a 10:22 avg pace (10:26 for the first mile, and then a 10:15 pace for the last 0.8 miles of that leg).
Well everyone ran hard and when the awards happened, they announced third place first, and it wasn't us. We immediately said to each other, "Oh, there must have been more teams than we thought. I guess we came in 4th." Then they announced 2nd place and it was Team Heels and Hills! We were over the moon with our second place medals! Such a fun morning.
It was capped off with a random run-in for some more of the great Heels and Hills Lucky 13 Run Team members (of which Sarah and Jamie are both on the team). We were leaving, and I heard someone yell my name. Who would believe there was Brandie and Catherine, both on the Run Team!?! Catherine and Brandie had happened to run into each other on the running path, and, while they had never met before, recognized each other from the Run Team pics on the Heels and Hills website. It felt so great as everyone met each other to see 4 of the greatest ambassadors of Heels and Hills' vision together in one place!
Sunday morning, I didn't want to run. I was tired, kinda sore, and my water bottle holder was soaking in the sink, still being cleaned. I had slept in a little, it was about 8:20 am. I complained the whole way but slowly got my running clothes on. Good move, because once the clothes were on, my chances of not going out the door was only about 10%. I knew if I lingered, I might not go. I was sick and tired of the pre-run bagel and, with off-and-on stomach problems when I run, I thought it might not be a bad morning to try no food and see how it felt. I also didn't grab any water beforehand.
It was nice out, high 60 degrees. I definitely felt like no water and no food is not a good combination for me - I just felt drained of all energy. Lesson learned. It was worth a try to see how I reacted. I did 2 miles, 10:48 and 11:00.
My 6th run with 11 min miles or faster! Now to slowly start adding a little mileage to each run. But I am definitely feeling for the short distance like my body is being reset to accept the 11 min pace as my "natural" one.
Summary:
Saturday, Aug. 29 - 3K leg of a relay race: 10:26, 10:15 (0.8 miles for that 10:15 pace)
Sunday, Aug. 30 - 2 miles: 10:48, 11:00
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