On the Run: Live Like Andi 10-Mile Run

Live Like Andi was not a great run for me.  It was my first 10-miler.  I've done 10ks and half marathons but nothing in between. For some reason I thought it would feel a lot shorter than a half but 3 miles isn't very much shorter.  That was my first problem.  Another was the weather.  It was raining and I've only run one race in the rain.  (Thankfully the rain subsided after the first couple of miles.)  After 1.4 miles, my Nike+ crapped out on me and I couldn't use that to check my pace, something I have become very accustomed to using to gauge my performance.  I also use my Nike+ to check on how far I've run.  Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal but the course was not well marked and the last marker was at mile 4.  

The course was also really boring and looped twice through the same neighborhood where everything looked exactly the same.  It was eternal.  Another challenge was that the race was not crowded so for most of it, I was running by myself with just a smattering of people far off in the distance.  Basically, I felt like I was out running a really boring 10-mile Saturday morning run by myself.  I understand that it's a small race so I didn't expect crowds of cheering fans at every turn but I need a little something to keep me going.  Plus I was tired from the start and "mind over matter" was not a phrase that my brain would let me consider.

Wow - reading all this back to myself sure sounds like an awful lot of selfishness and complaining!  Especially since the race is a fund-raiser for Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) research and is put on by a wonderful group of volunteers who lost a dear friend and family member, Andi O'Connell, to ACC in 2007.  Therefore, I have to say that the biggest problem of all was my attitude.  I had a bad attitude about it from the get-go so every little thing that wasn't quite right seemed like a huge deal.  I need to lighten up a bit, ya know?  If I do it again next year I'll run it with a friend and keep it light and easy, rather than see it as a chance to try set a new PR.  Just a good run for a worthy cause.  I'm sure that's how Andi would have done it.

Time 

1:19:31

Pace 

7:57/mile

Fuel 

Pure Organic Apple Cinnamon Bar, banana

Tunes

Dog Days Are Over / Florence and the Machine

Race for the Prize / The Flaming Lips

Such Great Heights / The Postal Service

I Can't Stand / Otto Vector

Lucid Dreams / Franz Ferdinand

Supermassive Black Hole / Muse

Ruling Me / Weezer

Bad Romance / Lady Gaga

Kick Drum Heart / The Avett Brothers

Second Chance / Peter Bjorn and John

 Under Cover of Darkness / The Strokes

A Matter of Time / Foo Fighters

Lots to Say / Otto Vector

The Great Defector  Bell X1

All the Best / R.E.M.

Take it Off / The Donnas

 Middle of Nowhere  Hot Hot Heat

 Howlin' For You / The Black Keys

  I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) / Meat Loaf

Run This Town (Ft.Rihanna and Kanye West) / Jay-Z 
Lose Yourself / Eminem

Fighter / Christina Aguilera

Not the Same / Ben Folds

The Whole World / Outkast