I ran the Junior League Mother's Day 10 Mile in Central Park. Even though I didn't feel like I ran a good race, I was within my goal time, 2:06:09 to be exact. As always, I was one of the last ones to finish, but I finished. That's all that really matters.

A combination of factors affected me today. I forgot to take an allergy pill, and choked on tree pollen throughout. I didn't hydrate well enough the day before, and overcompensated during the race. At different points I felt water logged, and that's not exactly a good feeling. I also need to stop drinking any type of caffeine the day before.

Anyone familiar with NYRR races knows that they like to add the hills to the last half of the race. There are times when those hills are tricky, and there are times when those hills are cruel. Today, the hills were cruel.

I ran decently up to mile 7. But by mile 8 I felt my knee and realized I had left my Advil in the other bag. Mile 9 was painful, but thanks to random encouragement I trudged on.

One thing I feel really good about is finishing strong. I've learned how to pick up my pace in the end.

I also feel really good that I can maintain a consistent pace, given the distance. I've struggled with anything above 5 miles for the longest time, and now I feel like I've gotten it down and settled into my comfort zone. The pace for this race was a bit faster than what I did for the half-marathon last month, but I think I'll keep it here so I can continue to build endurance. Once I work my way up to 15-20, I'll start working on speed, (though that's not really a priority).

Anyway, go me!