Inside-Out Sports Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 8K Race Report

First of all, I know what an 8K is.

I have done one before.

It is approximately 4.97 miles.

I KNOW that.

So make no mistake: I knew I was running 4.97 miles today.

I even told my husband this before the race.

However, while running the race, my brain fried and wandered into LA-LA land. So instead of KNOWING I was running 4.97 miles, I decided that I was running 3.97 miles.

Yes. I confused myself and expected to be close to done after my three mile alert went off. I thought I was running just past a 5K.

So when I heard my four mile alert go off on my watch, I was wondering why I didn't hear people cheering, see the finish, nothing.

And then it hit me. I KNOW IT'S CLOSER TO 5 MILES!!! SHIT!!!

And it hit me like a wall. I was deflated. I have one more mile to go? Really? What the hell was I thinking? What happened to my brain?

I don't know what happened but the end result is it happened. And I was shocked to the core. And I was sad and frustrated that I had one more mile to go. I lost it mentally. I wanted to tuck my tail in between my legs and go home.

But I bucked up and went forward. I really wanted to see Karen or Frank, friends I started at the line with, to find motivation to keep going.

And before my big mistake, I had an OK race. I was doing a pretty OK pace. Not what I wanted to do but I was managing. At the three mile split, I was in the zone. I felt great. My legs felt great. But at that time, I thought I only had less than a mile to go.

I saw Coach B & her hubby right at the turn to the finish, which I thought would never come soon enough. That last mile seemed to go on forever. Where is the fricking end???

I smiled at my coach sheepishly as they cheered me on. She's awesome.

And I heard Tim and saw Mi-Mi holding a sign she made for me cheering me on. It was all worth it when I saw them. I was still frustrated with my race but not as bad as I thought when I found out I another mile to go.

When I tried to explain what happened, there was confusion as most thought I thought that an 8K was 3.97 miles. THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. I know/knew how long I was running today. I just fucked it all up in my head once I started running.

Nonetheless, I still PR'd the race for that length. I hadn't run an 8K since 2004 and improved by 2:12.