JCC Bagel Run - 2014

For the first time ever, I repeated a race Sunday. The JCC (Jewish Community Center, which is about a 10 minute walk from my house) holds the Bagel Run every May, a 5k loop through my neighborhood, which is pretty hilly. It was my first race after we moved to Dallas last year.

It's cheap and I of course want to support a race that I can leave my house 10 minutes before it starts and still be early.

It has a 5k and 10k option, and since I don't get my legs for 3 miles, I go for the 10k. Last year, it was my very first time running the 10k distance. It was steamy and I hadn't brought any water, AND I didn't realize it was a double loop, so I got to the end and they said, "10k, keep going!" Ugh. Mentally, that was tough. I finished last year in 1:08, which is far from a PR at this point, but given the Triple H in effect (heat, humidity, and hills), I was happy if I could just beat that 1:08.

The thing is, I've gained 20 lbs since I ran that race last year. *sigh* It's been a tumultuous year. Moving, losing my job, and then starting a VERY sedentary job. So, I knew it would be tight.

Well, officially, I finished about :30 slower than the previous year, but I'll call it even. I ran it in 3/:45 intervals, didn't push particularly hard, other than to keep my pace on the hills. I really kinda treated it like a hill workout and put my energy into powering through those bad boys. And indeed, I felt strong on them.

I finished feeling strong, too, and I beat the two ladies I had my sights on. Hey, it's the small victories sometimes.

The race itself is very small. Maybe 200 people, with only a handful doing the full 10k. But there is a nice bagel buffet at the end. They even have a very cute "Fastest Rabbi" award for each distance. :) Mazel tov!

The bad side of the race is that they have run out of water at the last water stop both years, and they ran out of water at the finish last year. As warm as these races have been, that's really unacceptable to me. I ran with my handheld bottle this time, which I don't like to do, but knew I needed to because I knew that was a possibility. I nearly parched to death last year and got yelled at for dumping one of the cups of water on my head at the last stop last year. Sorry, phone somebody and get some damn water in that jug!

Next year, I'm going to make hubs bring our little cooler to the final stop to make sure ALL the 10kers get to hydrate for the final mile and a half and even get to dump water on their heads if they want.

All in all, it was a good race. I felt good, but I was happy to see the finish line. I had half a bagel with hummus on it, which reminded me why I can't eat hummus. I used to eat hummus as a snack before hockey, and found myself getting REALLY tired during games. So I quit buying the stuff. But I figured after a race, it wouldn't be a big deal. Well, how wrong I was! I spent all day in a zombie-like state of exhaustion. More than is normal for a 10k. Heck, worse than a half marathon! Finally caved and took at nap at 3 p.m. to try and get some humanity back. Woof. I'll stick with peanut butter or something. Something about exertion and hummus, man. Knocks me on my ass!

Apart from being a decent race, it definitely hit home that I have to get this extra weight off, so those efforts have commenced in earnest. And boy am I hungry. Ugh, I hate limiting my calories.

Ah well, it's about the journey, not the destination, right? :) Happy trails!