Hot & Sweaty! Queens 10k Race Recap

Yesterday I ran the Queens 10k.  It was hot.  REALLY hot.  Here are the things I did wrong leading up to the race:

*I took a spin class on Wednesday, and another on Friday and ran Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
*I hardly slept at all Saturday night
*I didn't plan out my outfit, if I was doing baggage or not, or what I was going to eat in the morning.  I'm 99% sure this contributed to my lack of sleep Saturday night.
*I woke up sore Saturday morning, then carried home 3 really heavy bags of groceries late Saturday night.  My arms were like jelly.
*I woke up sore Sunday morning
*I positive split the race

Here's what I did well:

*I PR'ed

I won't say that I did it right, because maybe it wasn't the best idea to try to PR given the heat, and I definitely positive split this race.  But it's still a PR, so I'm happy with it!

Waking up Sunday morning, I was feeling tight, stiff, sore and tired.  My 10k PR prior to this race (48:13 - 7:46 pace) wasn't on the same level as some of my other race times (how do you race/pace a 10k!?) so I was hoping for a PR, even though all conditions were less than ideal.

It was 75 degrees when I woke up, which to me is perfect weather, so I thought maybe I could run 46 minutes.  We had to run to the start because we somehow ended up being late.  It still didn't seem that hot to me.  I was beginning to think that the weathermen had been wrong. AGAIN.  I felt great for the first two miles, even though they were my fastest (7:19 and 7:14).  Then it finally became apparent just how hot it was!  I was running out of my way to run through puddles to feel the water splash up on the backs of my legs, and desperately running towards the sprinklers.  I was pouring water on my head after taking a sip (I'm still terrible at drinking while running) and counting down the miles VERY SLOWLY.  

I was so focused on getting to the end that I didn't even know I ran right by CitiField, but here's proof!  That's me. The only girl in the picture.

Photo Courtesy of New York Road Runners

It quickly became clear that 46 minutes wasn't going to happen, but I was still on track to PR.  My heart wasn't really in it- I thought about stopping a few times.  I thought about walking a few miles to the end.  But I knew that I would regret that, so I pushed through the heat and negative thoughts in my head and made it to the AMAZING ICE-COLD SPONGES! And surprise medal!  And a new 10k PR!

Here are the official results:

We left Flushing Meadows Park quickly, partially because we had to meet friends that were taking us to the beach for the day, but also so we could sit in the AC on the train for an hour!  Sorry to anyone that was on that train and didn't run the race...

Next time, I might think twice before signing up for a race on July 1, but now I'm just one race away from qualifying for the 2013 NYC Half and NYC Marathon!

How do you pace your 10k races? What did you think of the Queens 10k/the heat? Are you working towards qualifying for the 2013 NYC Half and/or NYC Marathon?