I want to be stoked about this race but unfortunately I'm completely scarred by the confirmed reminder that my feet are a major issue. I am completely heartbroken because I want more than anything to race uvm but I just MUST address this issue. It is so frustrating to feel so great and have something like this hold me back. But it is what it is and ignoring it is not fixing it. Okay now that my bawling is out of the way on to the report. Splits: 6:11, 6:01, 6:18, 6:02, 6:04, 6:08, 6:05, 6:05, 6:09, 6:12, 6:18, 6:11, 6:07, 55 (5:47 pace). All splits between 6:01-6:18 - super proud of the smarter runner I have become. Note to self: start conservatively it always, always works for you! Nutrition: bagel/half a banana & 24 ounces Gatorade. Water/Gatorade at most aid stations & a gel at mi 8. Recap: I absolutely did not think I was capable of pr'ing today and had no real intent of even trying. I've been feeling a bit off for awhile now and just wanted to run a smart race. Slc half chewed me up, spit me out and left me in a hole and I did not want that to happen again. I started out with Jasmine and she seemed like a smart runner. After a few mi I realized I was going faster than I planned and told her to go ahead and that I should back off. But for some reason I just hung with her, I felt good and more than anything was loving the conversation. We were talking like long lost friends for the first 50 min of the race. It was great and time flew by....and little did I know we were flying down the canyon literally. There were no mile markers in the canyon which was actually nice and before I knew it we were out of the canyon. Way faster than my "plan" but apparently I'll go any pace as long as I have someone to chat with. I like to talk! Jasmine pulled ahead around mi 8 and I thought I slowed down but really I just stayed the same and she shifted into another gear (an incredibly fast one!). Not much else to say. I just kind of cruised into the finish. I felt better than I've ever felt in a race but my feet were on fire starting at mi 6.5 and getting progressively worse until the end. Backing off the pace helped but physically I felt so good it was hard to slow. Such an odd feeling. And that was all she wrote! Happy with my time and the PR - frustrated with my feet! I wanted 6 mi after the race but that seemed counter productive all things considered. I changed shoes and ran the 5k with my sis. She ran 26 min - woohoo go sister. Feet were semi noticeable but feel fine going slow. Congrats to all who ran today! My absolute favorite thing about races is the support, the awesome energy, and seeing my friends succeed and run well. Big PRs today for Josse, Ericka, Melody, and I'm sure many others. It was so great to chat with so many after the race and a big huge thank you to everyone who continues to support me. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such great people. Running freaking rocks! | 