The 10k

Well I did it! The 10k is over and it was AWESOME! Everything went smoothly, despite the large panic attack I had worked myself into a week beforehand.  I was really worried that we'd get lost, not find the shuttle bus, be late, miss the race, not get the baggage checked... etc. But God was watching over the day and things couldn't have gone better! I'm so happy I did this little "mini"race before the 1/2 because I know what things to change for next time. I also learned a little about the racing world of Korea. Here's what I know for next time...

1. No matter how many times I go to the bathroom before the race ( I went 4 within the hour before) It's inevitable that I'll have to go the minute before the race actually starts. I forgot about it until there were 2 miles left in the race and there I could see the porta- potties, but I decided to hold it and not add on extra time, and I made it!

2. EAT MORE! Usually I can't have ANYTHING too close to running or I feel completely nauseous. Well this time I had a banana, and a muffin with peanut butter, and some strawberries. Literally 2 minutes into the race I was starving which led me into bad decision...

3. Eating a hot dog after the race smothered in cheese because the only thing they offered was some crap danish and a power bar and I was soooooo hungry. I then felt sick the rest of the day. But at least I wasn't starving anymore??? I'm looking for some better pre-race food for next time, because that will be twice as long, which means twice as hungry, which means more post race bad decisions.

4. I'm obsessed with my Garmin Forerunner watch... seriously obsessed. I check it ALL THE TIME. and then I start to analyze.... "this is my pace, I wonder if I'll keep this pace, maybe I should go faster, maybe I should slow up and save it until the end, is this really how far I've gone?, etc..." I guess it keeps me occupied and off the fact that I'm running in the hot sun... but seriously I don't know what I'd do without it... it wouldn't be good.

5. I was soooooo happy to actually see other Koreans running, and women for that matter!! I know this sounds stupid, but for the past two years I've lived in rural Korea where NO ONE runs! I am a freak of nature to these people! I had a police car stop the other day and the officer was trying to let him drive me home. Last year a man in his van followed me for a good ten minutes wondering what I was doing. I finally felt normal!

6. Some Koreans run... exactly like they drive. And that is not a good thing. For the most part there is no consideration of other runners, and they have no running etiquette. We are taking basic things here. For example. We round a pretty tight corner and this man in the middle of EVERYONE decides this is the perfect moment to stop... and tie his shoe... in the middle of the corner.  I had a group of like the 3 girls stop right in their tracks a few feet ahead of me and take a picture!? That and I'm sorry but if you're going to walk.... please move to the side. I was pleased that I could tell other Koreans were annoyed at their fellow countrymen... there was a lot of Korean griping... and I didn't feel so bad at my annoyance after that.

7. When running an "Eco" course you'd expect like a trail run of sorts... well it's Korea and it was not what I was expecting. We were kind of running along a marshy rivery thing on a track like surface and then there was the actual river. But the fantastic part was that there were construction workers... in the middle of the trail... PAINTING and spraying it all over. So not only are you trying to catch your breath and breathe regularly you are also inhaling paint fumes... not so Eco friendly Korea...  and you are also no trying to dodge workers and not trip over the 50 cords everywhere and the huge generator... couldn't take one day off.

8. I realized how frustrated I get with the sprinter/walker guy who wants to look good. For the last 3 miles this man was playing this little game. He would be walking, I would pass and he would sprint.... then I would catch up to him as he was walking... as soon as I passed... you guessed it. He'd sprint! Pick a pace people!  And to top it all off I passed him when we maybe had 1/2  a mile to go ( he was walking, and panting pretty hard). Literally in the last .15 miles of the race I start sprinting and the lane for the finish is only 2 people wide so I'm on the right sprinting and the people on the left are going considerably slower, I hear a man yell "move, left, move!" I take a glance, it's annoying sprinter man... well I will not be beat... so I pick up my pace and he continues to yell at me to move... dude I'm .02  away I'm not going to slip into the slow lane because you just decided to pick up your pace... I'm FINISHING THIS RACE MY WAY! And I did... and then he almost took me out at the end, and gave me a glare... and I stared right back.... yeah... I'm competitive...

9. Racing is good for people watching... it helps the miles go by.

Alright on to the pictures!!!!!

Group stretch!

You'll never guess who sponsored the event...

The marathoners comin' through

Can you spot the white girl, in the bright pink amongst the sea of blue koreans???

There she is!  I love the guy next to me waving at Jon too :)

There she goes in all of her pink glory :)

I LOVE the guys face behind me... priceless!

Literally the second after I finish.. checking the watch! And you can see annoying sprinter boy putting his hand on my arm taking me out.... I should've elbowed him.

Finished 6.2 miles in 54:59! My goal was to be under 10 min/mile and I  definitely accomplished that goal!

My sweet medal and bib number! So happy to be done!

So there it is folks! The recap of the race. It was fun, the running was great, and I'm hoping I can do this well during the half!

Tomorrow you'll get to see the amazingness of the Korean wedding... and let me tell you it was different!

Oh and any tips on pre-race foods!!!??? I need some help...obviously.