2017 SacTown 10-Mile Race

I am still dealing with this cold thing and frustrated about that! Head pressure, sore throats, run off, runny nose, and other unpleasant symptoms for the last week or so. It’ll pass, I know, and it’s not the end of the world. But it sure makes trying to function at work crappy. And made for a crappy race Sunday. My sister and I have a goal of running 100-miles in races this year for the RunSac Series and even though my racing year has gotten off to a rocky start, I decided to do the SacTown 10-mile run to buffer my mileage. I was feeling fine when I registered for it and intended to treat it as a training run for the next half marathon. But I woke up dragging that morning with a sinus headache, runny nose, etc. I decided to go for it figuring I wasn’t pushing for a time goal and felt okay at the start line.

It was a beautifully clear morning and a smaller race than I was expecting, but very popular for elite runners.

Truthfully I wasn’t jazzed about this race because the 10-mile course does the same 5-mile loop twice. It wasn’t a bad loop going over the Tower Bridge 4 times and getting a good tour of downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento. But a little deflating to see elite runners wiz by going the opposite direction at multiple areas, haha.

Things were going good for the first few miles, I was holding my race pace nicely and feeling okay. But that changed at mile 4 when my stuffy nose started getting to me so bad I was gasping for air and had to slow down because I could feel my heart racing. Shortly after my quads had decided they weren’t into it either and I seriously considered bailing after the first loop.

I pushed on at a slower pace with micro intervals while focusing on breathing and made it to the finish line at an unimpressive pace for me.

I’m glad I took on the race and actually like that it was smaller scale and seeing elite runners in action. And the medal is a fun add to my collection.

But still feeling a little deflated wondering how and when I will get out of this slump!  The next race is at the end of this month and I really want it to go well and train hard while being careful not to over train. This year will definitely be a learning experience for me.

What cheered me up nicely was the post race meal at the Yard House with family. They have always had a good vegan selection on the menu offering Gardein as an alternative to many meat dishes and other fun choices like mushroom and tofu lettuce wraps. But they upgraded with this new burger on the menu! Basically a vegan burger patty created with shredded Gardein, kale, grains, and additional seasonings. And they now serve Daiya cheese on it. Looks amazing, right?

It was and very satisfying. Sure, it was a total splurge and something I usually only do on race weekends.