Workout Wanda: The Panerathon 10K with a 2 mile warm up for a grand total of 8.2 miles!

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First, I want to apologize for last night’s post. It is nothing near what I had planned on it being. Throughout the day I had thought up random witty things to work into a “day before the race post”. Obviously I was quite tired and potentially a bit delusional because that is definitely not what I wrote and published last night…whoops.

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Anywho, onto my rambling about the Panerathon 10K! I got up extra early to get my game face on and drag Chris’s less than excited butt out of bed. We headed up to the Westminster Panera a little earlier than necessary because I needed to cover about 2 miles before the race even started if I was going to get my full 8 miles in!

Our on-the-road breakfast and my 2 mile warm up run course!

Oh yes, I totally looped back and forth through the Target parking lot just to get my 2 miles in. Chris was not impressed but he had his super awesome, supportive, bombdiggity husband face on so the embarrassed complaining was minimal. I finished my “warm up” with an average pace of 9:48, lost a few layers of clothing and headed for the start line…its race time!

Amy…this is for you! Me being all pumped up!

I am totally tweeting…oops!
{blue tank + yellow headband + cellphone = me!}

The race wasn’t very big. I heard one of the Panera employees mention they had about 750 people pre-registered. Since we picked up my packet yesterday I only had to grab my chip this morning but the registration and pick up lines were basically non-existent so I’m assuming they were quite organized!

When we were standing at the start waiting for our chance to take of like a passel of clumsy gazelles I realized that my warm up run was a rather good idea…I was one of the few people not shivering like crazy!

The course was out and back on mostly paved trails with no good place for Chris to spectate so he was stuck at the start/finish are bored to death for about an hour! We forgot the laptop at home so no sitting in Panera, staying warm and aimlessly surfing the internet!

I started out way too fast. Like, seriously too darn fast. My race face might have been on but my race brain was still sleeping. My first half mile clocked in at 7:52. Really!? I get excited about anything in the 8’s on a training run…I should not be racing in the 7’s!

I slowed myself down a bit and eventually got into a rhythm but was still at an average in the upper 8’s. This is when the mental yammering started…”Heidi, this is a training run, what are you doing?!” and “You’re supposed to be slowing down, stop chasing that girl!”.

Even with my far too fast pace I was feeling pretty darn good until about mile 4.5. Then I died. My legs hated me and I wanted to just stop my Garmin and walk so darn bad. I wanted to be done…now!

Somewhere around mile 4.41 my subconscious must of taken over because my Garmin got stopped somehow. It took me a while to figure this out so my Garmin was all jacked up. Probably a good thing because I couldn’t obsess over the dropping average…

In the first 2 miles I passed a girl in a bright green shirt {it’s a C9 shirt, I also own it!} and at almost exactly mile 5 she caught back up. I had nothing left to fight her off with…nothing. I again had to remind myself this was a training run and let it go. I got close to a girl in pink but I eventually gave up and just focused on surviving to the finish. I made it across the finish line and didn’t even puke on the nice girl who took off my chip!

My Garmin stats definitely are not accurate but I am adding them anyway so you can see how crazy I started. I really need to have a chat with race brain and I am so glad this wasn’t a half marathon, I would have died if I started out that fast in a half!

As soon as I finished running I grabbed Powerade and then scampered to the end of the line for freebie Panera food. The line was insanely long but I wasn’t running a race with Panera in the name without some Panera in my belly!

The start of the line is by the beige tent top you see!

I was pleasantly surprised by the spread that Panera had to offer! Staff was constantly restocking and there was quite the selection. After loading up with two Asiago bagels, chocolate chip cookies and a slice of turkey sandwich I headed back to the car.

Chris drove home and I shamelessly mowed down on my best-race-swag-ever Panera food. I attempted to share with Chris but I may have grabbed the food I knew he wouldn’t like just so I got to keep it all to myself! I’m a loving wife like that!

I befriended my foam roller, contorted myself into random stretches to Fred’s confusion and am now continuing to break in our couch. Chris has plans for us to go biking at Buffalo Creek later today and I’m trying to prepare myself for 20 miles on a bike…

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And here is a quick look at week 5 of training – not fully updated as the Panerathon official results are but you get the point!

click to enlarge or view full training plan

I am feeling pretty darn good about this week! I got all my miles in and for the first time in my life I ran a warm up for a race…and managed to have a pretty good race. The race would have been phenomenal if I had kept my stupid speed for the end!

I’ll be back later with the official race results and potentially some more race photos…if I survive our bout of mountain biking! Get excited!

Do you ever have big plans for a post and then once you write it realize you flubbed big time?
What is your favorite Panera bagel…or any bagel flavor!? {Asiago, hands down!}