The story of the 10k

Remember that 10k I was supposed to run in July? And then remember how I sprained my ankle and couldn't run? Well the next 10k in San Diego was last month. And since I missed the last one, I did everything in my power to stay healthy for this one. Like most of my favorite races, this one took place in Balboa Park. Not nearly as cool as running over a dam, but still a good venue.

This 10k was part of the 20th annual AIDS walk - a 5k that had a lot more participants than my 10k run. There were a ton of events prior to the actual event also, including choir performances and the entire soundtrack of rent.

Thatboy and Thatdog joined me as usual to cheer me on.



The 10k started before the 5k to give us runners a chance before those walkers got in our way. Remembering my pace issues with the 8k, I put myself in the middle of the pack so I wouldn't be tempted to go too fast, too soon. And I purposely filled my playlist with slow songs to keep my pace slower than the adrenaline push.



Things were actually going really well for the first 4k. I was maintaining a good pace, enjoying my music, and generally having a fabulous time. Then, all of a sudden, out of no where, my back started spasming. At 4k! That's less than 3 miles! I run 3 miles everyday! So why was my back spasming now????? Two things kept me pushing through. The first was the fact I had already wussed out on one 10k this year because of a sprained ankle. The second was because I really didn't want to have to go over to the teenage volunteers and ask to borrow their phone so I could call my husband to come pick me up.




This picture was around mile 4.5ish.....I was such a trooper that when I saw Thatboy and Thatdog standing on the side here I decided not to tell Thatboy about my back, so he wouldn't make me stop running.



I finished the race even with the back spasms that continued to get worse and worse as the day went on. By the time we got to Thatmom's house that night to celebrate the Jewish Holiday I couldn't even move. Even with the muscle relaxants in my system. Maybe those last 6k weren't the smartest idea? According to Dr. Boyfriend I slipped a disk (hmmm the verbage there seems wrong....) back in April and for some reason the 10k re-slipped it. Bah! Dr. Boyfriend is confident this is just a minor injury and I'll be back running in no time, but since I won't be running any more races until I'm all healed and better, it kind of makes me feel better about finishing the 10k.

10k playlist:

• Breathe (2AM)- Anna Nalick (I thought this would help my pace start slow...it did. Plus "breathe" is a good message for any runner.)
• Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright (Still slow - see, trying to learn from my past)
  
• Winter Song - Sara Bareillis (I totally fell in love with this song during auditions for Season 5 SYTYCD)
• Allison - Elvis Costello
  
• Sometimes - Bowling for Soup (This is where the tempo starts to pick up)
  
• Love Me Dead - Ludo (As soon as Labor Day is over I start getting ready for Halloween. This is on my Halloween soundtrack. Dark but fun.
  
• Sly Girl - The Spies
  
• I'm Gay - Bowling for Soup (This song has pretty important meaning to me. Bowling for Soup for Soup was a band I "discovered" and passed along to Thatdad who loved them just as much as I did. When he first died, I stopped running for a while. On my first run back, this song came on "Don't hate us cause we're happy/don't hate us cause we're beautiful/don't hate us cause we make you smile/or if we go the extra mile/to make someone feel better on a really shitty day." It was almost permission to start feeling better, and it's the first time I can remember my spirits feeling lifted after Thatdad's death. Of course, this is also where my back started spasming during the 10k.)
  
• You're Going to Go Far Kid - Offspring (The timing on this song was perfect "See them running for their lives." Plus there's something I really enjoy about profanity in my playlist.
  
• Falling Down - Atreyu (I thought it would be fun to have a "falling" section on the playlist. Given the sprained ankle and slipped disk, maybe this wasn't the smartest of my ideas)
• Ready to Fall- Rise Against
  
• Potential Breakup Song -Aly and AJ (Yup a super duper girly teeny bopper song. High energry and loads of it)
  
• Two Seater - Bowling for Soup (The beginning of my terrible breakup section. The song is about how he rips the back seat out of her car...and several other acts of vandalism.)
  
• Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (I love this song back to back with Two Seater. Seriously I wouldn't date either of these people if you value your car.)
  
• Song for the Dumped - Ben Folds Five (This one brings me right back to college)
  
• Luckiest Loser - Bowling for Soup (The last of the bad breakup songs. )
  
• Harder and Harder to Breathe- Maroon 5 (Kind of fitting to end the playlist with another song about breathing. But by the end of the race I thought "harder and harder to breathe" would be apt.)