Last Saturday morning was the first of my three winter races. It was the 10K race over at Chatfield State Park.
It was a brisk morning and I was excited to run with the other 300+ people. I learned three important lessons this day that I know I won't forget for some time to come:
1. I will never choose to run in a race that has an elevation profile like the one above. It was nuts. The first two miles were ridiculously hard and had me wanting to stop with 4 miles to go. Yes, there was a nice downhill run between mile 2 & 3...but how could I enjoy it when all the while I was thinking about having to run back up it.
2. Since it was a 10K (6.2 miles), I thought I would be able to deviate from my standard, comfortable pace...and run it a little faster. What a dumb mistake. I got caught up in the adrenaline rush at the beginning and practically sprinted with the other runners. This too played a big part in the wall I hit at mile two.
3. I will never eat a big salad for dinner the night before and then a big bowl of frosted mini-wheats 2 hours before I run.
Next month's race is a 10 miler back at Chatfield. This time we run in the opposite direction which is thankfully more flat.
