Running the Riverrrrrrr- Week 5 (January 28 - February 2, 2013)

Chattahoochee Challenge 10K (Roswell, GA) - February 2, 2013

With the Disney Princess Half Marathon right around the corner (3 weeks!!!), I wanted to get in a "longer" race in preparation.  Back in late December I came across the Chattahoochee Challenge 10K.  I have ran 10Ks and part of a half marathon on this course, so I was pretty familiar with what to expect: fairly flat course with a few moderate hills along the scenic Chattahoochee River.  My 10K PR and Half Marathon PR took place along this course, so I figured it would be a good race for me to do.

After hurting my foot last week, I was a little apprehensive about running today.  My foot pain could be caused by a variety of things: pinched nerve, stress fracture, worn out shoes, etc.  I decided to test out a new pair of shoes to see if that might be the issue.  After hurting my foot/leg in 2011, my foot doctor fitted me for the best shoe for my feet - Asiacs Cumulus.  My shoe guy (Landy @ Athlete's Locker in Cartersville) is pretty amazing.  After talking to Landy last weekend about my foot pain, he custom ordered my new shoes!  The Cumulus 14's just released a new color for spring that the store does not even carry yet, but he was doing an order Monday and got them just for me - THANKS LANDY!

I will learn to complain about 28-37 degree whether on Saturday mornings....let's try 25 degrees!  Thank goodness all pre and post race activities were inside because it was just down right bitter cold!  As I got my bib and began to stretch, I really started to question if running this morning was the right thing to do.  Having the "no excuses" and "don't quit" attitude that I have, I decided to go for it.  If I started hurting I could always just slow up and/or walk if need be.  

For most of the first mile I was in a good bit of pain, but past that point the pain just kept escalating.  By the time I got to mile 4 the pain was getting unbearable.  I was really upset because I knew if my foot weren't hurt that I could have a chance to PR this morning.  It is what it is, my foot is hurt but I finished!  

I have ran plenty of races that have been sub-freezing temperatures, but this was the first race that the cups of water at the aid stations had ICE forming in the bottom!  I am very thankful that the race director and volunteers kept reminding runners to through their cups/water in the grass and not on the road - this could have been a horrible mess if the roads would have gotten wet.  Thank you to all of the runners ahead of me - I greatly appreciate not encountering an ice rink at the water stop.

The shirt had a cool design to it, however it was a cotton short sleeved t-shirt.  I like when races in the winter do long sleeved shirts, but I still enjoy short sleeved since I can wear them year round.  Since the race was hosted by the Chattahoochee Nature Center, it only made sense that the goodie bags were environmentally friendly.  Whole Foods was a sponsor and provided the race with mini sized "green shopping bags."  I love when Whole Foods provides these at races because these bags can be reused and are the perfect size for taking your lunch to work or other miscellaneous items.

I ran today's 10K my slowest time in 1 1/2 years.  It was hard to digest how slow my time was today, but given the fact that I ran injured, I have accepted it.  Minus the injury and the cold, today's race was great....ok, the injury and cold made it pretty miserable for me.  I hope to come out and run this race again next year and see what I can do with 2 good feet.

Since it has been a week and I am still having a lot of pain, I am giving in and making an appointment to go to the foot doctor to get it checked out.  I am very nervous that I am going to be advised to not run the Princess Half, but I have already decided that worst case scenario I will walk it and just enjoy the atmosphere!  I will be out of town for a few days for work, so I won't be able to get in to see the doctor until later this week, but I will let you all what happens.

Race Pros:

Fairly flat course

Smaller race for a 10K (capped at 1,200 runners)

Indoor pre and post race activities

Great volunteers

On-time start

Reusable goodie bag

Race Cons:

Hard to move around post-race area (awards ceremony was right on top of shirt station)

Short sleeve cotton t-shirt

Overal Race Rating: A-

Question of the week:  

What is your running shoe of choice?  Why?

Time to Run,

Brandi