GR8 to DON8 8K Race!

This morning I picked up Caitlin (my friend and co-worker) and her boyfriend Ryan, and we headed out to the race.  The race is for a really cause.  In the past, I have told both my mom and Chris that I would like to have my organs donated when I die, because I want others to be able to benefit when I am gone (of course my mom's reply to this was, "I will go before you." and Chris's reply was, "You will be very old before you die, and they won't want your old organs."  Hehe.  Yes, I'd rather not think about losing him either.)  The race shirts are AWESOME!  They are adidas performance shirts, and by far the coolest race shirt I have ever received.  I also got a mini jar of jelly in my race bag!  After our packet pick-up, we met up with Caitlin@HTP (that's right, two Caitlin's in one race), who is such a wonderful person!  We took fun pictures (some on this blog post I borrowed from her blog), then the race started.  Unfortunately I started the race with a cramp (lame), but for the most part my knee felt good.  There was only once when my knee was sore, but it passed.  

Caitlin, Ryan, and myself.
Photo taken by Caitlin@HTP

I wanted to run at least a 10 minute pace, but did not want to push my knee too hard.  I have a problem with racing and not fully pushing myself, but I kept reminding myself that I have never run an 8K race before, so no matter what I was going to get a PR.  While I do not normally look at Garmy until the end of my run, I kept looking at it and was trying not to be disappointed by my pace.  I almost reached my 10 minute per mile pace goal; unfortunately, at the very end of the race I had the worst cramp that made me stop.  I was disappointed and embarrassed that I had to stop and just barely missed my goal (final time of 50:19 with a an average pace of 10:04), but I have to admit that racing an easy pace and chatting the entire time with Caitlin@HTP was fun.  I think the easy pace is exactly what I needed for me knee, because it still feels great.  It was also really awesome to get to know Caitlin@HTP outside of Blogland. 

I also have to say that I am super proud of my friend and co-worker Caitlin, who finished with her boyfriend Ryan right after Caitlin@HTP and I finished.  This was Caitlin's first 8K too, but it was also one of her best running times, which is great!  I am so happy for her!

After the race, we said good-bye to Caitlin@HTP, then Caitlin, Ryan, and I drove around before deciding on Einstein Brother's bagels for breakfast.  I had a very delicious fruit parfait!  YUM!  Then I took them back to Caitlin's and went home.  After a shower and a nap, Chris took me out to lunch at one of my favorite bbq restaurants called Wildside BBQ Bar & Grill.  I have a delicious pulled bbq sandwich with sweet pickles and side salad.  If you are in the area and love bbq, I highly recommend you check it out.  There is outside seating available, and they are a dog-friendly restaurant.  It is also close to a wonderful little park that is great for an after meal stroll. 

While at the race,  Caitlin@HTP ran with a hand-held camera and took pictures.  She had this awesome little belt for holding her camera, which is something I have been wanting.  She told me that she got it at a local running store, so I had to head out there after lunch.  I think the belt will be great for running with a camera as well as a cell phone for when Caitlin and I are running in the early hours of the morning or for when we start heading out for trail runs (which I hope to do).  I not only purchased the awesome Spibelt in purple, but I also got a new pink running shirt (that Nike style is my favorite... it fits great and is very comfortable), cool adidas running visor with reflective strips, some sport beans to test out on a longer run, and a fun license plate cover for my car (it says: Runner Girl, I Run Like a Girl).  Needless to say, that store is dangerous, but I had some Easter money to spend. 

Finally, I did not do the ab work-out last night, since I was worried about sore abs during my race (which I had anyway), but I plan to do it tonight.  I am tempting to go for a run, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to not push my knee too much. 

I hope that you all are having an absolutely wonderful weekend! 

Also, thank you so much to people who have been commenting on my blog.  I attempted to find a way to add a reply button to Blogger, but that resulting in my downloading a virus on the other laptop... yeah, I definitely will not be trying that again.  So until Blogger adds a reply feature, or I switch to a different blog site (not very likely right now as I like Blogger for everything else), I will reply to your comments by posting an additional comment or replying via e-mail if necessary.  Please check back.  I apologize for the inconvenience, and I hope to find a way to reply in the future.  I greatly appreciate your comments!!!  THANK YOU!