Success....FINALLY!!!!!!

So I’m happy to report that 10 for Texas was a success!  The conditions were definitely warmer & more humid than last year.  I sweat a lot when I run normally but by mile 1, I had a shinier glow than normal.  I did make the very same mistake I made last year which was I went out too fast.  I think this is something most people tend to do because you get caught up w/ what the crowd is doing.  And of course, I kept telling myself I felt great and I could maintain it.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a speed I could maintain over 10 miles (at least not yet) and so I had to dial it back a bit.  Either way, I was approaching mile 5 a little faster than planned but that’s ok.  I rounded the turn at Cochrans Crossing and loved seeing the spectators cheering away!  As I got ready to make my turn on to Lake Woodlands and head back to the finish line, I saw Keith sporting his ORR shirt.  Yay, my cheer squad was here.  He knew I was on the pace I had hoped to be and told me to keep it up.  I felt great for about 400 more yards and then as I hit mile 6, I just started to struggle.  My nutrition was good (I was taking water & sports drink every 2 miles), my training was good and mentally I was good.  My best guess is that it was a combination of going out too fast and the humid temps.  I was definitely feeling a lot of heat in my face/head if that makes sense.  At mile 6 I took 3 cups of water and 1 cup of Gatorade.  2 cups of water went on my head and the other in my body.  By mile 7, I was feeling much better and knew it was time to kick it into gear.  But dang, it was hot!!  I kept thinking about how my coach told me to race so hard I vomit. At one point, I really thought I might but then I thought about the camera at the finish line and I didn’t want a puke crusted face.  When I hit mile 9, I did my very best to speed up.  I was getting ready to turn into Market Street and I was fading a bit.  One last push of the gas pedal and I could stop.  I straightened up, raised my head and just pumped my arms until they couldn’t pump any more.  3-2-1 DONE!!  When I stopped, I thought I was going to pass out.  The tunnel vision started and I was looking for Keith to break my fall.  I knew to keep walking and that seemed to help.  Cold water never tasted so damn good.

I was so happy with the race.  I felt like I raced smart once I corrected the issue of going out too fast.  I hung in there when I felt terrible and I pushed at the end until I couldn’t push another step.  No time to sit around and bask in the glory of a race done well though….it’s time to get back to training.  This week is another crazy busy week.  I am already looking forward to my weekend training though!  Keith & I have a 4hr ride on Saturday and we’re both super excited.  And then lucky girl that I am, 14 miles by foot will be my Sunday morning activity. 

As of today, I’m 1lb shy of my 12 week goal (and I still have 5 weeks to go).  Needless to say, I’m super pumped with the progress I’ve made.  As of this morning, I’ve dropped 17lbs since starting with Chase and 24lbs in total.  It’s funny because you realize when you’re losing weight b/c of how your clothes fit but since you see yourself in the mirror every day, you don’t really notice the difference.  And honestly, it’s only been the past couple of weeks that folks have commented at all.  When I saw the pictures Keith took at the race though, I was in shock and almost cried.  I couldn’t believe how different I looked. I told him more than once that it looks like a different person. In the past, I always told him that he captured the most unflattering moments in all my races but it’s time to face the fact that the pictures looked bad because I didn’t look great.  Period. 

The best before/after picture I could find.  Same shirt worn 7 months apart.  Yikes!!!!!

I am so excited for the next few weeks.  I am not even thinking about a time goal for OilMan (ugh, ok, that's a lie....sorry Ana!).  All I’m doing is visualizing the race piece by piece and thinking about what I need to do in each event to have a successful and fun day.  I am SO excited!!!