Austin 10/20 Race Recap

At 6am the alarm clock went off notifying us that race day had arrived! Once again I was impressed with our crew’s ability to get 5 people up and out the door with only 1 bathroom in record time. The drive there was pleasant enough, and we listened to some sort of Irish music that reminded me of the theme song from “Braveheart” to pump ourselves up. There are two conditions under which I am allowed to run while pregnant: (1) My heart rate doesn’t get too high and (2) I don’t overheat. I wasn’t really worried about my heart rate because I knew the pace would be something I could handle. The weather though, was a huge concern as Austin typically experiences temperatures in the mid 80s this time of year. Somehow we lucked into experiencing one of the chilliest days Austin has had in the last month, and by that I mean the low almost slipped into the 50s the night before and the high that day didn’t reach 80! To make it even better, it was overcast and drizzly most of the race. I could not have hoped for better conditions.

Andrew, Christine, me, and Jason before the race

This was Andrew and Christine’s first big organized race, so I made sure we did things right and gave them the full experience. First, we stood in the long line at the porta-potties. It is an art to pick the fastest moving line, one that I have never mastered, but practice makes perfect! Next we did some plyometrics to loosen up our muscles.

Andrew warming up

                             

After we were thoroughly stretched out, I made a mad dash for the bathroom one last time, the rest of them were brave and decided to hold it. Just a few short minutes later, the gun sounded … and we all stood still. Just like the last race I ran back in March, we were far from the actual starting line and slowly walked up to the start before our real running began.

I haven’t posted in a while because running while pregnant is really not all that exciting. What you don’t know is that I have had to stop and walk instead of running multiple times during the training leading up to this race. Nothing dangerous for the baby is going on, I’m just … growing … and stretching … in areas that aren’t necessarily the most willing to give … and it hurts! Depending on the day I can head out and run 9 miles with no problems, or barely make it 1 before I am forced to walk back home and accept that fact that things are just going to be different for a while.

From the first few steps in Austin I could tell I would make it the full 10 miles, and that was a huge relief! I could also tell from the first few steps that I already needed to pee again! So, at the 1 mile mark I found myself standing in line at the first porta-potties in sight as Andrew and Christine forged on ahead (Jason was kind enough to stay with me). Thus began our 10 mile game of run a mile or so to catch the Tilts, stop to pee, and run to catch up with the Tilts again. I took 4 bathroom breaks total, a new personal record!

I knew Jason would run the full 10 miles just fine because a few weeks ago on what was supposed to be an 8 mile training run, I took us on a “short cut” that added 2 additional miles. The Tilts were the unknowns, but they were awesome! Our goal was to finish under the 2 hour mark, and the entire race we were looking good. The bands along the way were pretty decent, but I think over all the crowd was disappointed at the low volume of the music. We had hoped for the sound of one band to carry us forward to the sound of the next, but instead there were several minutes of silence between each band stand. I am sure the pros that were running 5 minute miles thought that the music carried well between each stand, but for the rest of us back there, a little more volume would have been appreciated!

Around mile 8 we all stopped for a bathroom break, and this was the first time I started to worry about our ability to run sub 2. We were not behind our goal pace, but we had no room for error in the final miles. I did not say anything because the group seemed to pick up the pace right where we had left off, but at mile 9 we had noticeably slowed. I told them where we were time wise and that we could not afford to slow down or we’d miss the goal, and slowly the pace picked back up again. What seemed like forever went by, and we found ourselves rounding the last turn. The finish line was in sight … I looked at my watch … we had exactly 60 seconds left. I started yelling for the group to sprint, and as many encouraging things as I could think of. I could not tell by the look on Christine’s face if she was going to sprint, stop and walk, or slap me for being so annoying. Fortunately for me after a second’s hesitation she started sprinting. We all took off chasing down the finish line as fast as our legs would go. “30 Seconds!!!!!” I yelled out as we continued to close the gap. “10 Seconds!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!” ….. “WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!”

Official time: 1:59:57! Go Team!

Jason and I at the finish!

I am so proud of our accomplishment to run 10 miles, and run within our goal time. The whole weekend was a huge success and I had a great time. Now that the race is over, I am not sure what my next move will be. To be honest, I am way more sore after this than I had expected to be. My muscles are fine, it is my body trying to adjust to all of the changes going on internally that just make running fairly uncomfortable at times. I plan to take the remainder of this week off, then figure out what running/exercising feels good for the next few months and just cruise.

When I will post again is a mystery, but until then … happy running!

Austin 10/20 Race Weekend – Pre Race

This past weekend Jason and I traveled to Austin, TX to run the Inaugural Austin 10/20 with Jason’s sister, Christine, and her husband, Andrew Tilt. The race was 10 miles with 20 bands along the way to help keep us motivated, and we had a blast! We took Friday off of work and landed in Austin at 11am to a wonderful surprise ... Christine and Andrew adopted a dog! She is an absolute sweetheart, and her name is Lambeau. We have been away from our dogs for a week now due to travel plans, so hanging out with Lambeau is just what we needed!

After becoming acquainted with our new family member (yes, dogs are family in the Mercer house) we started what would become one of the most food packed weekends ever with a trip to The Salt Lick, a casual barbeque place seemingly out in the middle of nowhere that we had been told was the place to go; and we were told right! In true Texas fashion the plates were large and loaded! After stuffing our faces we headed into town and changed into bathing suites for a trip to a local swimming hole. One of the many wonderful things about being pregnant, is that my stomach is always big. Normally, after a meal like the one I downed at The Salt Lick I feel bloated, but now I’m supposed to be big, so wearing a swim suit is no big deal! The weather was not quite as warm as anticipated, but it was still nice enough to jump in the water and float around a bit before drying off and heading home to prepare for another glorious meal.

For dinner that night we decided to check out a Tex Mex place suggested by a friend from Fredericksburg that used to live in Austin. After walking around the downtown area a bit and exploring the original Whole Foods store we made our way to  Z Tejas. I started realizing how perfect our timing in coming to Texas had been as I was dunking my chips in as much guacamole as I could fit on that tasty little crunchy triangle. The entire pregnancy all I have craved is cheesy, salty, saucy food … and there we were in Texas eating as much of it as possible … it was wonderful. During dinner one of Andrew’s friends from college, Ross, joined us. He also was in town to visit for the weekend so afterwards we all headed back to the Tilt’s place for a good night’s sleep.

The next day we were up with the sun and out the door in record time for 5 people sharing 1 bathroom. This included taking time to devour a delicious breakfast casserole that Christine made from scratch. Our plan included checking out another swimming hole that was a bit farther away and more popular than yesterday’s and we wanted to beat the crowd. As you can see in the pictures, it was well worth the early morning drive!

Beautiful Swim Hole

Jason and I

Ross, Andrew, and Christine

Jason having fun!

On our way back into town we stopped for lunch and had yet another amazing meal. Jason and I grabbed some pizza from Home Slice while the rest of the troop ordered flat bread tacos from a little trailer in a parking lot (which is the thing to do in that part of town). Everyone was satisfied, and once again, absolutely stuffed. We then continued the rest of our drive to the Tilt home and bummed around until it was time to eat again for dinner! Andrew has apparently been working on rubs for steaks lately, and I have to state for the record that his hard work showed (or should I say, tasted?). Christine was not to be outdone though, and mashed up some sweet potatoes with a side of baked veggies and for the first time in my life I liked the mashed sweet potatoes! With full stomachs from three incredible meals, we all settled down for another night’s sleep in preparation for the 10 miler the next day.

As I was thinking through the weekend, and the race, I started realizing how happy I was that I did not plan to race the 10 miler on Sunday. Normally, when I travel for a race we eat pasta, plain sandwiches, and then more pasta. The thought of a meal even close to the ones I consumed in just a brief 48 hour time period in Austin would have made me sick. Also, I would not have wanted to play much at the swim holes in an effort to rest up for the race. In other words, I would have been a lot more boring to be around, and missed out on a lot of fun.

Now, I am not saying that this will forever change my outlook on race weekends, I am sure once I am chasing down that 3 hour mark in the marathon again I will be more than happy to revert to my old “boring” ways. What I am saying, is that I am very thankful for this amazing time in my life where I have a great reason to just sit back, relax, and enjoy having fun (and eat EVERYTHING I CAN) with people I love.