TC 10 Mile Race Report

Start time:7am for Corral A.  My corral started around 7:20am. I think they need more corrals because this race was crowded.

Weather: Not the best.  50s and rain, or 50s and wind.  Roads were wet.  The best part was the amazing full rainbow we saw before the start.  About three minutes before the sky opened up.

Wardrobe:
Throw away clothes: Top and bottom from GoodWill.  I took them off when Corral C started to move towards the start.
Shoes: Purple Skora Phase because I know how those shoes perform in the wet.  I was confident of my footing the entire race.
Bottoms: Nike running shorts because they had pockets for my Larabar and a zipper pocket for my keys
Top: Orange Singlet
Other: Race belt, orange visor, orange compression socks

Transportation: 5:40am bus to the race.  Dungeon master gave me a ride home which was a surprise.

Route: TC 10 Mile route. This is a hard course.  Flying Pig is hard because of the climbing.  In some ways this is harder because there's not really a down.  It's like go up and up and up and oh, look, you're done.

Plan/Goals:
Goal: My A goal is to run an 11:40 for the race series.  I knew I did well on the Saturday races but I purposefully did not look at my results before Sunday because I didn't want to be thinking did I go too hard on Saturday?  So I was really just telling myself to run 11:40s today.
Plan: My mental game was so strong this year.  I'd thought about everything, and had a plan for it.  There's all the normal stuff like when am I going to take gels and which water stops should I use?  I also thought about 'what will I tell myself on the hills?' and 'what pace/effort should I use on the big hills?'; 'what do I tell myself as people are passing me on the hills?'; 'what do I tell myself if my paces are slower than I wanted?' and 'what if it rains?' thought I admit I wasn't totally expecting that.
The real plan I kept telling myself was 'run with your heart' and 'run to feel good'. My mantra, which I also gave to Dungeon Master was “I am a discomfort master.  I thrive in all conditions.  Everything I need to succeed is already within me.  It is here to stay.” I mostly just kept saying 'I have everything I need to succeed'

Execution: Mission totally freaking accomplished.  I started off fast, totally didn't pay attention to my pace on the Franklin Ave hills, then did pay attention to pace until I got to the Cretin Ave hill.  After that, I mildly paid attention to pace but mostly tried to stay strong and feel good.  And it felt fantastic.

Nutrition:
Morning: Salted avocado slices around 5am
During race: Bite of Larabar at mile 4 or so, water just after that.  Bite or Larabar around mile 7.  That is all. The rest of the water stops were way too crowded.  I just stayed away.
Post race: Well, sigh.  This is when the wheels fell off the wagon. 

Remember for next time:
GoodWill - go on Tuesdays which is Blue Tag sale day.  I had a blast this year. 
Strong mental game is the key to having a great weekend.  This is probably the best mentally prepared I've ever been for any race.
Tapering was done correctly this year, even though it felt like too little running.  Results speak for themselves. 
Just Fine: Music is everything.   No time for negative vibes because I'm winning.  I focused on having a positive playlist for this race. Mary J Blidge carried me up 'the hill in a place where there shouldn't be a hill' AKA the River Flats. I'mma still wear a smile if it's raining.  Indeed. Other hits from this playlist include Work This Body, Mountains Beyond Mountains which is appropriate for Summit Ave, and Super Duper Love.

Bonus: I got a ride home!
I got a mug of coffee at the finish
I did not get my free beer
I did not get to ring the PR bell.  But I earned it.