Sweetheart Run Double

I had been excited about the upcoming Sweetheart Run for weeks. I love running it on a team with Jeremy and I love that doing the double takes all pressure off running specific times for either race. Then the weekend before I had a 20 mile long run workout that started out typically and then ended horribly. It went so awry at the end, I was only able to manage 9:40 pace for my 4 mile cool down. At that point I lost all excitement for the race and started thinking about the possibility of dropping it. I had been having issues with my head. I had a migraine one Wednesday and then went back to normal afterward. Then the next Thursday I got another migraine and never felt right afterward. I'd wake up in the morning so dizzy, I'd almost fall getting out of bed and my head would feel weird and off all day. I didn't really have migraines but I'd have pretty bad headaches most of the day. The Saturday I ran my 20 miler I was so sick and dizzy after the run that even one of the kids touching me would make me feel like I was on a roller coaster and the room was spinning. It definitely didn't make me feel excited to run. Finally the Tuesday before the race I woke up with my head feeling normal and I was back in business. I was excited when I was able to average 6:36 per mile repeat for my speed work that week. Last year I averaged 6:28 pace for the same workout the week of the Sweetheart Run. All my speedwork and tempos have been slower this season than they were last spring so I expected to be quite a bit slower at the race this year. I was excited that I was able to run only 8 seconds per mile slower on that workout just 2 days after bombing my 20 mile workout. I started thinking if I could average 8 seconds per mile slower in the 10k this year than last year, that would be a 6:51 pace and I might be able to sneak under 43 minutes. That was an exciting thought for me. I also knew that historically I don't run well in race distances over a 5k when run the weekend after a 20 mile long run. Most notably my terrible races at the Zoo Run 10k in 2017 and the Tulsa Run 15k in 2018. So I wasn't expecting much. I was hopeful I'd still be able to break 21 minutes in the 5k and maybe pull out a sub-44 in the 10k.

Saturday morning Carter woke up at 6:10. My alarm was set to go off at 6:30 and I didn't see a point in trying to go back to sleep so I just got up early. I was able to do a short pre-run yoga workout since I had extra time which was nice. Mom and dad accidentally set their alarm for 7:00 which was the time we planned on leaving, instead of early enough to give themselves time to get ready. Since I was doing the double and not trying to race all-out, I wasn't too worried about getting a warm-up in. I figured if we left at 7:15 I'd still have time for a mile warm-up before the 7:45 race start. But then we got turned around downtown and couldn't find parking so I ended up only getting a 7/10th of a mile warm up in. I wanted to make sure to find Jeremy at the start because he planned to hold back and run the 5k with me after his scary incident at the Race Into the New Year. Mom and dad were walking the race since dad's recovering from heel spur surgery so they helped me spot him. We took off together and chatted a little about the wind. When we turned into the wind early on in the race I was surprised by how strong it was and told Jeremy it would be nice to be able to finish with the wind at our back. It seems like each year at this race we have to finish into the wind and the finish has a little bit of an uphill so it would be nice to have a tailwind for the finish! We went through the first mile in 6:44. I was wanting to be under 6:45 pace so I could finish in under 21 minutes so I was okay with that although I would have preferred for it to be a bit faster. There was one woman way out ahead of me.

Jeremy and me ready for the start of the 5k.

The wind was so darn cold. When we were running into the wind my left hand was totally numb and I had to pull my fingers into my glove and ball them up to warm them back up. We went through the 2nd mile in 6:45 and I resigned myself to the fact that I likely wasn't going to finish in under 21 minutes this year. When we hit the last mile we had a little downhill by the BOK Center before turning to go up the long but slight incline toward the finish. I felt like we were maintaining our pace but with the wind at our backs, we were running much faster. Jeremy took off and I was pleased to see him feeling so good. We saw mom and dad and they cheered for us which was fun. I was shocked to see I ran the 3rd mile in 6:28! I would never have guessed I was running that fast, it felt so easy and comfortable. I ran the last portion of the race in 5:50 pace which I couldn't believe either. My time was 20:39 which averaged out to 6:38 pace. I grabbed a water bottle and Jeremy and I talked and walked as we drank. Then I took off for a mile cool down/warm up for the 10k. During my cool down I stopped by the car. My plan had been to change out of my sweaty sports bra and top into something dry in between races. I also had fresh gloves and a headband. I decided not to change because I wasn't that sweaty and I would go from a spandex top to a tech top because I expected it to warm up more than it had. I didn't think it would be warm enough to go to a tech top instead so I stuck with what I was wearing. The nice thing about wearing my capri tights was that they have big pockets on the side so I was able to stash my medal in my pocket for my cool down instead of carrying it. I drank an Arbonne fizz thing my sister-in-law sent me for my Boston training and then finished out my cool down.

Jeremy running by mom and dad at the end of the 5k.

Jeremy finishing the 5k.

Running by mom and dad at the end of the 5k.

Finishing the 5k.

I guess the key to good finishing photos is to not race all out, darn, haha!

When I got done with my cool down I had time to hit the porta potties and then it was back to the start line for the 10k. I saw a friend who used to be on my race team and we chatted while I was on the look-out for Jeremy. He found me and then we were off together again. I was hoping I might be able to average under 7:00 pace so I was pleased to see we took off a little under 7:00 pace. The same woman who beat me in the 5k was out with an aggressive lead again in the 10k. We saw mom and dad go by on the 5k course at some point, I think. We went through the first mile in 6:58. My legs usually feel a little off for the first couple miles of the 10k and we were running into the wind so I figured I'd be able to maintain around that for the rest of the race. We went through the 2nd mile in 6:54 and I was excited about that. Jeremy was running on my right and there was a guy to my left. The guy to my left made a loud, throat clearing grunt noise. Jeremy had his headphones in so he looked at me and said, "Did you say something?" I was trying not to laugh out loud as I knew he'd heard the other guy's weird noise and thought I was talking. We had a laugh about it after the race.

Mom and dad got this picture of us running together in the early miles of the 10k.

Mile 3 we get to go down the big hill we have to come up at the end of the race and we went through that mile in 6:40. Then there's a long section on Riverside. It was fun when the leaders were coming back by on their return trip and I got to cheer for them. As we were going I was calculating how much under 7:00 pace we were and determining our average pace. I knew we were averaging 6:53 pace and I was really happy with that. I was hoping to keep it around there but I also knew mile 5 is always a struggle with the big hill and I expected to be over 7:00 for that mile. We were on our return trip on Riverside, getting cheers from the runners still on their way out, when we hit mile 4 in 6:56. I knew we lost a little on that mile, but that stretch is always rough. You know you are coming up on the monster hill and you're starting to get tired. I always struggle a little mentally there as it's a long straight away and you know it doesn't end until you turn and go up the beast of a hill! I was feeling tired and really dreading that sucker. Surprisingly when we took off up the hill, I felt great. Normally running that hill, especially when I've done the double, my legs burn the whole way up! It was like the hill was giving me a second wind. I felt like a beast going up it! Jeremy fell back a little bit going up the hill. When we made it to the top and he hadn't come back up beside me, I started to worry and I had a little internal struggle. Should I drop off pace and fall back to run with him and make sure he was okay? Or should I continue on and drop it like it's hot since I was feeling good? I decided since we lost each other on that hill last year too, with no ill consequences, and he was likely falling back because he felt like that was in his best interest, that I should continue on. It ended up being the right decision but I worried about it and battled inside my head over it for the rest of the race.

I went through mile 5 in 6:58 which is the fastest I've ever run that mile at this race, even faster than last year! It was the first time I had been within seconds of my other miles on that mile. Normally I'm at least 15 seconds slower on that mile than any other mile of the race! I was super pumped up to see that mile split, especially after my watch showed I was running 7:40 pace at one point going up the hill. I think that's definitely something I'll need to keep in mind when I'm battling the Newton Hills at Boston. Even if my watch shows a drastically slow pace on the hills, that doesn't necessarily mean my mile split will be crazy slow, so I shouldn't freak out over it! I was feeling awesome and really took off during the last mile. I passed a couple people and was having that super awesome, happy, kick ass feeling when you are just dominating the finish of a race! Going into the last mile I had calculated I was 34 seconds under 7:00 pace which averaged out to 6:53-6:54 pace. I know it seems weird to calculate those kinds of things in my head as I run, but I really enjoy it and it gives me something to think about and distract me. I have noticed I always calculate down like figuring out how much under 7:00 pace I was rather than how much over 6:50 pace I was, so I am counting a net total under and feel successful. I was beyond excited when I went through mile 6 in 6:26! That was a faster last mile than my last mile of the 5k, say what?! Plus I had just doubled the amount I was under pace from 34 seconds to 68 seconds in one mile! I took off running as hard as I could and was smiling as I neared the finish line. When I could see the clock I couldn't quite tell what numbers were in the minute place and saw it was nearing the start of a new minute, I was worried I wasn't going to be under 43 minutes, but it turned out I was seeing a high 41, not a high 42 as I neared the finish. I was ecstatic when I realized I was finishing in a mid 42! I ran the last portion in 6:06 pace and finished in 42:39. That was only 27 seconds slower than last year and I was so excited! I expected to be so much slower than last year! I averaged 6:47 pace per mile which was only 4 seconds per mile slower than last year! I watched Jeremy finish and then took off on my cool down. I stopped off at the car and grabbed a bag of clothes to change into when I got back for the awards ceremony.

Last mile of the 10k.

Jeremy in the last mile of the 10k, clearly he saw the photographer while I did not.

We were inside the building looking at some adorable dogs they had there looking for new homes. One of which my mom put in an application to adopt. So we missed the 5k awards. Normally they announce inside that they are getting ready to do awards and didn't this year so we didn't realize they were going on. Jeremy finished the 5k in 20:22. He was 12th out of 944 overall and 5th in his age group. My time of 20:39 put me 14th overall and 2nd overall female. We placed 3rd out of 122 teams. Mom and dad walked together finishing in 1:23:14. They placed 941st and 942nd overall. Dad was 22nd in his age group and mom was 31st in hers. In the 10k my time of 42:39 put me 9th out of 526 overall and 2nd female. Jeremy finished in 43:57 which put him 11th overall and 5th in his age group. We were again the 3rd overall team. The teams who beat us were also in the double and beat us again in the 10k.

Showing off our double medals after the race!

Mom and dad walking during the 5k.

This year was way more competitive than previous years. Last year I won the overall double challenge with a combined 5k/10k time of 1:02:59 and Jeremy was 2nd with a combined time of 1:04:11. This year my combined time was only 19 seconds slower at 1:03:18 and I was 7th out of 289 overall in the double! Jeremy's combined time was 1:04:19, only 8 seconds slower and he was 9th overall! The top 2 finishers had combined times of 54:00 and 54:18! We finished 3rd out of 32 teams in the double teams. Although we didn't win anything like we did the previous 2 years, I had just as much fun, if not more fun than in the past! In 2018 Jeremy and I ran the 5k together but not the 10k. Last year we ran the 10k together but not the 5k. This year we ran both races together and that made this year much better than previous years! I was really proud of our races, especially given the wind and difficult conditions. I was also shocked by how close we were to our times from last year! I definitely didn't expect to be that close to my times from last year at all and definitely didn't think my 5k would be faster. Maybe I'm getting more used to marathon training to where I can put together faster races in the shorter distances on marathon training. In the past I have struggled to run decent times in anything under a half-marathon while training for a marathon, so I was especially pleased with this race. Read about last year's double here, 2018's double here, 2017's 10k here, 2016's 10k here, and 2015's pregnant 5k here.

With my friend, April, after the race. She also ran a trail half marathon the following day!

Dad jumped in with us.