10K Recap- aka The Day I thought I'd Die

This weekend I made a little trip to KC to help Darci celebrate her dirty 30 (if 30 is as lame as we were Saturday night, I don't want August to come this year). Darci wanted to get a few girls together and go out for dinner/drinks, and then have all of us run to our death the next day for a 10k. I had put off registering for the 10k because I think I was in denial about running it. I hadn't trained AT ALL... and when I say at all, I had been running a few times a week, but nothing over a 5k. Super smart idea, Molly!

If you're a mom you can relate to this photo I shared Saturday. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is being ALONE in the car, with the music cranked to some good 'ol dirty rap music! See that... an empty backseat, and my current favorite jam!

Darci got us a room on The Plaza in KC, so we headed to the Cheesecake Factory. I know that place is always busy, but had no idea the wait would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours for dinner. If you know me in real life, you know I'm the most obnoxious person in the world to go out to dinner with. If we wait past the time they tell us, or the service is bad, I'm complaining. I think we pissed the hostesses off so bad that towards the end I think they were just messing with us taking FOREVER! I thought it would be smart to load up on awful food before our big run. I haven't eaten that poorly in a long time (I can't believe I'm saying this, but I skipped the cheesecake- WHO AM I?!), and I paid for it with a stomach ache the rest of the night... Smart idea numero dos! Dinner was great, I got to meet another blogger, Amanda, and another one of Darci's friends from work, Fallyne. We chatted, laughed and took our sweet time enjoying our table that took only a few short HOURS to get. After dinner we headed to a bar down the street to have some drinks and see where the night lead us. Turns out, we (when I say 'we' I don't mean all the ladies, mainly just me) were way too old to be there, and the night led us back to our hotel within a half hour. HEY PARTY LADIES {sarcasm font}.

At least we got some cute pics to commemorate our 'oldness.'

 Holly and I.. she's the cutest. 

Darci and I... with our now similar bangs.  

Moi, Darci and her girlfriend from work (and my newest running idol) Brecken.

When we got back to the room I was trying not to focus on the fact that I was running 6.2 freaking miles the next day. For all you experienced runners, I know that seems like nothing... to this amateur, it felt like EVERYTHING! Darci thought it would be a swell idea to keep the room at like -20* so I spent all night in the fetal position completely under the covers, shaking. I felt a super calming feeling Sunday morning when we got up, and just decided however it went, I'd be fine with it. My ONLY goal was to finish, then Holly and I decided that we wanted to meet a time of 1:15 or better, I thought that was attainable. This run was underground, called the Groundhog Run, through man made caves in Kansas City. It was pretty cool, but played a huge part in my mental struggle while running.

Darci and I in all our selfie, pre-race jittery glory

Me, Darci, Holly and Brecken

One more pic before we get started... Me, Holly and Darci

The race started (with me blasting my super ghetto dirty rap music of course), and I decided I would stay with Darci and Holly the whole time because I know I'd keep a good pace with them. Darci had told me she likes to do about 11-12 minute miles so I thought it would be perfect. I did well with staying with them for a while, then my mind got the best of me, and I walked a few times. I would walk for about 30 seconds, fight myself mentally, and start running again. I only stopped a few times, but I was kicking myself for feeling like I was giving up. I know I wasn't, but I'm so hard on myself, and super competitive nature, so it felt like I should have just called it quits. I didn't, and ran my little heart out. I always kept Darci and Holly in my sight, and eventually caught back up with them. Running for over an hour seriously felt like an ETERNITY in my mind. I know I'll get to the point where 6 miles will be my short run, but I'm definitely not there yet. I'm SO very proud of myself for crossing the finish line with the girls. We did so great, and finished at exactly 1 hr and 15 mins, slow and steady baby! 

Me in all my post race, sweaty glory. It got HOT in the caves, holy moly! 

Darci, Brecken, me, Holly and Amanda post race

WE DID IT!!!

I was so exhausted afterwards from fighting myself mentally. My body felt good, my mind was a mess. I got in the car and just sobbed because I was so proud of myself, and just exhausted. Thank the good Lord that my daughters are so easy going. I picked them up from my mother in laws, we ran to the grocery store, then home where I crashed so bad. I took a hot bath, and didn't move off the couch the rest of the evening. 

I will most definitely be running another 10k, and have a half marathon in my sights this year as well. Let the training craziness begin!!!