Success - now what??

Ah, the day after race day! It is all over, and I lived through it. Not even just lived through it, but thrived through it, I guess I could say.

 I didn't run a 2.46, but that was to be expected in the end. I didn't even run a 2.55. But I did run a 2.57.13, and I am proud of that. It was a great race, a great day for it, and I did what I set out to do, which was to run smart, stay in the race mentally through the entire race, and run as well as I possibly could. I feel like that is victory.

I think the mental prep work I put in helped (even the cheesy movie watching!) - I really did well telling myself numerous times on route: 'Don't worry about what happens in 10k', 'Focus on this mile only', 'Don't fret about the clock', 'No excuses, do the job' (that one came from Rudy!). I was pleased that I was able to stay in the game and stay positive. And for the most part, it worked really well - I was really enjoying the running for the first 2+ hours! It was hard work, but I really was liking it. The last 8k got hard though - I was on pace to finish in 2.54 range until about then, and I think that was mostly glycogen storage and lactade build up that forced me to slow down, since I didn't feel horrendous otherwise (I didn't feel great, either, to be fair).
But I stuck it out, despite slower pace for the last bit, and some of that is stuff that can be worked on, I am sure. I ended up 18th woman overall, from what I can tell, and 409 overall of about 9200 people, so that is pleasing! People seemed happy for me, and DC did as well :) I am glad it is over, for now....

But I know I am going to get antsy. For a while there I was thinking about taking some time to get back into enjoying running - not that I haven't been, but just to take it down a notch and just have fun with it for a bit. I am not sure though....part of me is thinking that this time, after I get home, is pretty much the perfect time to take it UP a notch instead! I won't have a job, will have plenty of time, and can really work on the aspects that I consistently slack on a bit - the S&C and the nutritional side of things. I will have to talk to DC to see what he thinks, but part of me wants to keep up the hard work and keep pushing - I know I can be even faster now, so want to keep the momentum. We will see. Overall, I am positive though, for sure - it feels good to have succeeded and have a new PB under my belt after what feels like a very long time!

I AMsterdam!