The One About Racing Cowtown This Weekend

On Saturday and Sunday I will be participating in 2 races as a part of the Cowtown Challenge. On Saturday I will be running the 10K and then on Sunday I will be running the half marathon with Rachel as she sets out to complete her first half marathon. I’m not going to lie, I am beyond excited for these 2 races!

The Cowtown 10K was my very first 10K race that I ever ran 2 years ago (read here) and I have only done one other 10K since then (read about that here; that was also the day I got engaged!). I know that on Saturday I plan to go out there and race the 10K; I am in great running shape right now and I know I have a pretty decent PR in me, the question is just how much do I have in me? I would absolutely love to go out there and shoot for a 60 minute 10K and honestly, I really think I could do it.

Most of my runs have been sub 9:50 lately and have felt fairly easy and comfortable. I know I would be fully capable of pushing myself for that extra bit of wiggle room to be able to see a 59:59 on the clock.

However, the 10K is not my only race this weekend and it’s definitely not the most important race. If I were only running the 10K on Saturday I would most definitely, 100% go out and aim for a sub-60 minute race. If I weren’t running with my sister for her first half marathon on Sunday then I would probably go for it too and take Sunday easy.

But here’s the deal, Rachel is fast; and dare I say that while right now we are pretty good for each other pace-wise I know that one day she can/will be faster than me. She has nailed all her training run and her long runs have been outstanding! I have been beyond impressed with her and her ability to run so well, which means there is no way I am going to do anything to jeopardize my ability to run well with her on Sunday. So on Saturday my goal will be to see a sub-10 minute pace average for the race.

Now I do realize that puts me awfully close to my sub-60 minute goal, in fact heart-breakingly close but I want to run well. Last night I ran 5.71 miles with a 9:44 average and it felt good, great even.

 I could have totally kept that up for another half mile and so if I feel exactly the same way tomorrow as I did last night then you better believe I will be going for it. But I’m going to listen to myself and if I at all feel like I’m pushing myself way too hard then I’ll back off. I have figured out that I could even get a PR with an 11:15 pace average which I know is fully doable. Clearly I put way too much thought into this but seriously, as much as I am not a numbers person I really love the numbers when it comes to running! 

So there, that’s my goal for Saturday: to PR hopefully with a number somewhere in the low 60 minute range, or less.

Now, as for Sunday I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for this race. My sisters are the most important people to me and so to share something that I love so much with one of my sisters has been amazing. Training with her and running with her has made my heart so full of joy. I have felt blessed beyond belief to wake up on Saturday mornings and run with her. Rachel has pushed me to be a better runner just as much if not more than I have pushed her to be successful. She has impressed me every step of the way I know she is more than ready to go out and run a great race. We have been chatting back and forth this week and aside from being less than thrilled with our wake-up time on Sunday morning I think she’s ready.

Thankfully she doesn’t get quite as caught up in the numbers as I do and she’s much better about not being as hard on herself as far as time is concerned (middle child for you!) but I do know that she would like her race to reflect the training that we have done. So other than our goal to finish a strong race we have a goal of trying to maintain an 11:30 pace average for the day. That gives us a finish time of 2:30. I know this is definitely something that she is capable of. Our plan, as it has been with our training runs will be to start off with a 6:1 set (running 6 minutes and then walking 1 minute) and then eventually work our way up from there. In training we would sometimes hit 10 or 12 minutes before a walk break so hopefully race day we can do the same. I bought her a handheld water bottle for her birthday so she will have that with her and we experimented on training runs with GU so I think she has that planned out as well.

Our mom is going with us and dropping us off and staying for the race. Our dad and stepmom also plan to come out and spectate as well with signs and all. I remember them being there during my first half marathon and I loved seeing them along the way. We have the best, most supportive family and I am truly grateful. Sunday is Rachel’s day to shine and if I’m being honest here then I should probably tell you that I would bet money on me crying at the finish line, I’m just emotional like that. I keep thinking back to my first half marathon (you can read about it here) and honestly as proud as I was of that day it was kind of a disaster and a disappointment for me; it took me a good year and a half to really get into a good racing groove. But I am so excited for Rachel because I have high hopes that this will be a great first half marathon experience for her. She’s already told me that she wants to keep running and do more races in the future and if she’s already saying that now I can only imagine how elated she will feel at the finish line. You know exactly what I’m talking about, you’ve all been there too, that awesome feeling of “when can I do this again!?” Yeah, I’m excited for her to have that feeling.

So those are my thoughts for this weekend. Everyone wish Rachel good luck and I’m sure we will be posting on twitter (@unlikelyrunners) and instagram (unlikelyrunners) all the racing fun if you want to follow along!

Is anyone else racing this weekend?