Harvest 10k

Where I grew up, there are bears. We always joke around that you don't really have to be able to run faster than the bear; you only have to be able to run faster than the person who is with you. Since I normally run alone, I have nobody to run faster than, so I am in trouble. However, luckily, yesterday I had a partner to run with, so I have at least a 50 percent chance of survival if a bear comes. I ran with Broski in his first race ever.

However, it IS only a 50% chance...

...Because Broski rocked it! He would have just as good a chance to outrun the bear as I would!

We ran the YMCA Harvest 10k in Santa Rosa, which was a very small race (my favorite!) The volunteers were great, the route was a fun run through the local neighborhood, the crowd was easy going and the post race celebration was fun. Even the local junior high cross country came out and raced. Also, Broski's girlfriend and her sister came out and did the accompanying 5k! It was a family affair!  

Trying to show our #s! It was chilly at first!

Broski's goal was to run under a 9 minute mile the whole time. He has a fancy new Garmin which he can set at a certain pace and it will tell him whether or not he needs to speed up or slow down. However, as we started out, we realized that we may not need to use it. We started out a bit faster than planned and I tried to warn him to slow down but he said he felt good and that he would let me know if he needed to slow down. So, we kept at it. We stayed around that pace the whole time, even while running up and down a few rolling hills. We did slow a little bit on mile 5, but only by about 10 seconds. We even talked most of the time. Or maybe I talked and he grunted from time to time.

Before we knew it, we were at the 6 mile mark and we could see the finish line in sight. I asked Broski if he wanted to sprint it out and he said yes. What a good sport. So we got to the 6 mile cone and started booking it. It was really funny because we started sprinting and the crowd was laughing at us and cheering us on. Then I saw a lady coming up next to me on my left (Bro was on my right) and she was keeping up with us! It was hard to keep up the pace but we ended up sprinting the entire way (about 400m) and I think the lady ended up beating us by a millisecond! She was fast! Our last 400 meters was run at about a 6 minute per mile pace! I couldn't keep that up any longer though. Phew!

* Our mile splits were: 8:08, 8:08, 8:18, 8:15, 8:22, 7:45.
* We ended up as #45 (48:58) and #46 (49:00) out of 196 participants (with an average of 7:54/mi)

So, like I said, Broski underestimated himself. It looks like we have a new runner in the running community! I have to admit, I didn't push him at all. I can't even take credit for his speed; he did it all on his own; I was just there to be company for him. He is excited about his time and the race overall, even though he said after that sprint at the end he felt like throwing up in the bushes!

Next up: a Half Marathon!

Have you totally underestimated yourself on something? Have you ever run so hard you felt a little ill?

The Month of Races

October is the month of races.

The broski, who works at a winery, was recently getting a little too comfortable on the couch a few too  many times a week. His job is "seasonal", which basically means that it is pretty physical for about 3 months of the year, during harvest, which actually happens to be right now. During harvest he works 10-14 hour days punching down grapes and doing other assorted grape related activities.

However, for the other 9 months, it is less physically demanding. So his pattern was this: get in pretty good shape each year from August to November; get out of shape from December to July. Repeat.

He got tired of this, and has been really trying to focus on getting out and getting some exercise. I have mentioned this before, but I am so proud of him for doing this. It is not easy to break a habit, especially a bad one, and it's even less easy to form new good ones!

So, he asked for me to join him in running a half marathon. He didn't have to twist my leg very hard for me to say yes. However, I suggested he try a 5k beforehand to see how he liked it before heading out for the long haul. He, being almost as stubborn and determined as I, said he would try a shorter race, but he was not giving up on the half marathon. So, shortly after, I found myself signing up for not one, but TWO races in October.

A few days later, I got word that I got into the Nike Women's Marathon.

The broski is doing great. He went from walking, to walk/running, to running 10 minute miles to running 8 minute miles. He is a rock star.

For his birthday, I got him a fuel belt and a tiger tail. 

He sent me this beautiful photo as a "thank you".

Sorry ladies, he's taken.

So...This weekend I am running a 10k with the broski; on the 14th, it's the NWM in San Francisco, and the weekend after that, it's the Harvest Half Marathon (which better have some wine involved!)

Our number one goal this weekend? Have fun! But we are also hoping to keep it under a 9 minute per mile pace. I think we can do it. We already talked logistics. The broski said he probably won't be able to talk while we are running. So I asked if it was okay for me to talk the whole time. He said, "sure, it will be just like being at home with my girlfriend". Ha. Ha. I am totally telling on him.

Do you have family members that run? Did you have a friend/coworker/family member that got you into running? Do you talk while you are running with someone?

Head over to Jills for more Fitness Friday fun!