Black Cat 10 Mile Road Race Recap

I did it! I ran the Black Cat 10 Mile Road Race this weekend, and I’m still alive to talk about it! Yay!

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I decided in January that I wanted to run the Black Cat 10 Miler. It sounded like a great race to kick off springtime running, and I figured that I had plenty of time to train for it. I even created a training plan to help me stay on track with my runs, cross-training, rest days etc.

Unfortunately I got hit with bronchitis at the end of January, and my lack of motivation to run simply just wasn’t there. I love to run, but for whatever reason (cold weather, sick, tired, other plans), life just got in the way every time I had the opportunity to legitimately train.

I thought long and hard about following through with the race, and asked myself a lot of questions. Is it safe? Can I really run 10 full miles without training? Is this asking for an injury?

After weighing out the options, I decided to go through with the race. I promised my friend Aly months before that I would do it with her, and I’m not the kind of person who lets down her friends. Plus, I really do love racing with friends! So much better than racing alone!

I went into the race with NO expectations. I kid you not, I don’t even remember the last time I ran over 5 miles before this weekend.

My goal was to simply finish the race in one piece. I would try to run at a comfortable pace, and stop to walk if I had to.

Luckily, I was able to plow through without stopping to walk! My unofficial time was 1:43, and I am happy with that! I barely slept the night before, had a pounding headache in the morning and wasn’t sure if I would be able to complete this race, let alone not stopping to take any breaks.

I truly believe that I was able to finish this race in a decent amount of time because although I did not train for it, I still stayed active. I was consistent with my Zumba, Barreworke and Poise classes (still owe you a post on Poise class!) and tried my best to stay positive.

Running my half-marathon definitely gave me a lot of confidence in being able to finish the Black Cat. For some reason 10 miles sounds and feels a lot shorter that 13.1, even though it’s really not! 

To me running is almost all mental. When I run, I almost always want to stop during the first 3 miles. After I pass the 3 mile mark, I start to count down in my head how many more miles are left. I’ve found that with running, you have to be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable (especially if you have not trained enough!)

After a while I start to feel numb to the fact that I am running, and my mind wanders off to a different place. I remember passing mile 7 of the race and thinking, “wow only 3 miles left?” It was at that point that I knew I would be finishing this race no matter what.

Overall I had a great time running the Black Cat, and am glad I followed through with it. Despite my setbacks, I made it through and had a great time.

Now it’s time to prepare for my next race, which is the Twin Lights Half-Marathon in Gloucester!

Time to get training (hopefully!)

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Have you ever gone into a race or event that you were not prepared for? How did you stay positive?