10k Wrap-Up

WOOHOO! 10k accomplished! ;)

I woke up bright and early this morning thanks to my husband's alarm clock- he was a volunteer at the race, coordinating one of the water stations (Mile 3 represent!), and had to be there at 5am!

Started off with my breakfast of champions and vanilla coffee- as a side note, I'm so thankful I discovered vanilla stevia!

recycled photo...but you get the idea. :)

Luckily the race was right down the street and I was able to get ready in time to ride with the hubby to the race. I'm so thrilled about that because I absolutely did NOT want to drive separate cars today. That's no fun. I did manage to forget my headphones and iPhone armband so I dropped him off and headed back home to pick them up. The good news is that was the only mishap of the morning!

After retrieving my missing gear, I met up with a few work friends for the opening ceremonies (Hi, Marcia and Molly!) and then I found my pace group. I opted to start with the 9:30 mile group because that was my goal time (58:00).

I wish I would have taken the time out to actually document the race so I would have photos to share. Unfortunately, I had such a bad case of nerves (I dreamed about bombing the race all night!) that it was all I could do to remember the absolutely necessary things!

During the week, I read several articles and blog posts about fueling for your race and pacing yourself, so I felt pretty prepared. I loved Tina's post on 10k Pacing Strategy. It helped me stay focused and feel like I had a plan! 

My planned 10k breakdown:

Mile 1- 9:20

Mile 2 & 3- 9:35

Mile 4 & 5- 9:30

Mile 6- 9:25

.2- as fast as possible!

My actual 10k breakdown wasn't quite what I had planned. I actually started the race at a 8:00 pace. Unfortunately, the "herd" slowed me down to 10:29 for a little bit until I could break away. I ended up staying at 9:00 pace for most the race (Mile 4 was a bit slower 9:30-9:40). A few times I checked my Nike+ app and noticed that I actually was running 8:30! I didn't even know I could run that fast! 

Focusing on my husband waiting at Mile 3 was my motivation for the first part of the race. He has never been at one of my races before and I loved seeing his proud face and hearing him cheer me on. Best. Thing. Ever.

Mile 4 was the most difficult. My breathing was heavy and labored and I started cramping up (too much water?). Because of my training runs, I knew it would pass and was able to work through it and keep going. There were definitely a few "Why am I doing this?!" moments during Mile 4.

After surviving Mile 4, the rest of the race was challenging, but bearable. I kept coaching myself through the hard parts. "You can do this!" and "You've got this, Kristina!" were my self-motivating mantras. ;)

Having run the race last year, I had a pretty good idea of when I was nearing the finish line and picked up my pace big time for that last push. I almost cried when I saw the timer and it flashed 55:55 as I ran under the finish line banner. The sign time alone was two minutes faster than my goal time. I'm still in awe. My d-tag registered 55:31:3 which translates to an average of 8:57/mile (according to the results post...I haven't attempted the math). WOW.


I'm beyond proud of my time and of how strongly I finished. Have I mentioned that I'm super motivated for my next race? I am! :D

The hubby treated me to brunch at First Watch to celebrate (The tri-athlete omelet is to die for!). And I treated myself to a luxurious body scrub,

My favorite brand for body scrubs.

painted my nails,

Coral Reef=Summer!

and ate Lunaberry Swirl coconut ice cream at home.

My new favorite flavor. YUM!

How was that for photo overload?  ;)

Now we're off to see The Avengers!

<3 K.E.

P.S. Tom is excited about my time too! :D

Say hello, Tom!

Step One to a Happy Life- DON'T COMPARE!

Good afternoon, blog friends!

This topic is very near and dear to my heart. As someone who has struggled her entire life (literally since I was 9) with body image issues, I know how debilitating it can be when you become stuck in the comparison mindset. "Her legs are more toned than mine." "My butt is too big- it should look like hers." We've all been here at one time or the other!

When it comes to comparisons the truth is both painful and freeing. Painful because we will always be able to find someone with a body part, talent, job, etc., that is more of the "ideal" than ours. This is a fact of life. We can't have the perfect legs, perfect boobs, perfect butt, be the smartest, have the ideal job, etc. Especially not when we are looking at a standard that is outside ourselves. (Be patient, here comes the freeing part.) Freeing when we realize that there is no standard for anything. That the "ideal" can only be found inside ourselves because we are all unique, all built differently with different goals, hopes, dreams in life. If we're two, totally different people with different aspirations for our lives, how can we compare ourselves?! It just doesn't work!

It is extremely difficult to keep this mindset of no comparisons...but it is so rewarding and I promise your life will be a million times more joyful! To read a more in depth post that not only points out the new faces of comparison (Facebook status updates, anyone?), but also reminds us to avoid being a cause of insecurity in someone else's life, check out Carrots 'N' Cake's latest blog post: Comparison is the Thief of Joy: Thoughts on Social Media. It is a wonderful wake up call for those moments when we really need one!

<3 K.E.

P.S. I owe you an Easter weekend recap. I promise it is coming!