HCA Virginia 8k

The 8k is becoming one of my favorite distances. I have only run two of them. The first in July and then the second this weekend in Richmond, VA - the HCA Virginia 8k. This is a fun, fast course. As I was running it, I was really wishing I was in better shape (well for many, many reasons) but mainly because this would be a really fun place to run a PR. It didn't happen for me today, but I didn't expect to anyway. This was my first "speed work" since late August. I need to get my legs moving faster again and I thought this would be a good way to kick it off. My plan was to start at an 8 minute pace and gradually get faster each mile. 

There were only two of us from CAR running the 8k. Pam and I ran into Maria, Angela and Cheryl before we did our warm up. 

Thanks for snapping this pic, Maria!

I only did about a mile warm up which probably wasn't enough but I got my heart rate up and felt good. I should have done some strides, but I ran out of time. The corrals looked like they were getting crowded and I REFUSE to hurdle a fence to get to my corral. I have almost twisted my ankle one too many times doing that. It's really the last thing I need. Ha. I was a little nervous before the race, but it was more excitement than anything. I wasn't feeling any pressure. There was a 1/2 marathon and a full marathon that started 30 minutes and an hour after my race, so much of the focus of the weekend were on my CAR teammates running those races. That was good for me. 

The National Anthem was gorgeous, Bart Yasso did the countdown and we were off at 7am sharp! My legs felt springy and good. I didn't even know if I was gong to see the CAR cheer squad on the course because I knew they had to get to their 1/2 and full marathon cheering areas. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jess C, Cheryl, Angela, George and Maria about .4 miles into the race. That was a good way to start!

Smiling. That is good!

The course basically went down West Broad Street for 2 miles, then we turned an ran about 2 miles back on Grace Street, finally making a turn a little past the 4 mile mark and ran straight down hill towards the water front, finishing at Brown's Island. 

I felt pretty good the entire race. I was pushing it, but not too hard. Every time I felt more discomfort than I felt comfortable with, I would pull back. (I need to get over that...btw.) In any regard, at 3.5 miles, there was a girl who kept surging and dropping back.  I could tell and hear that she was physically struggling. On one of her surges, she asked me how many miles were in an 8k. Seriously? This isn't something you figure out before you are more than half way through? It made me laugh. I wished her luck as my competitiveness kinda kicked in and I decided to start picking it up. Right after that, I saw my the CAR cheering squad - Cheryl, Maria, Melissa and Angela. We made the turn and the downhill finish was beautiful. I just rode it down to the water. So pretty! 

Thanks for the photos, Cheryl!

Out of all the races and distances I run, the only ones I seem to be able to execute properly (so far) is the 8k. For some reason I feel very much in control of an 8k - unlike a 5k or 10k. I know, it doesn't make sense. Spilts:

Mile 1: 8:02
Mile 2: 8:01
Mile 3: 7:51
Mile 4: 7:43
Mile.96: 7:33

CHIP TIME: 39:10
Place 13/371 in the Female 35-39 age group; 89/3,587 Overall

I am happy. I wish I ran faster but I did the best I could do today. I will get faster. One does not get faster by running 35-40 easy miles per week, so I am going to start adding speed into my workouts this week. I am planning on doing the Jingle All the Way 8k in DC on December 9 so it will be exciting to see how much fitness I can build in a month as I gear up to start training for the Shamrock Full.

Thanks to all the CAR cheerleaders! It was also so inspiring to see so many great, inspiring performances from my CAR teammates. Check out these results: WOW! Each one earned by grit, determination, discipline, great coaching and having a team support them 110%. We couldn't do this without each other.