Setting double alarms. Waking up at the crack of dawn. Analyzing every aspect of your bowel movements (or lack thereof). Stressing about transportation. Standing in line for porta potties. Waiting at the starting line for ages because you arrived an hour in advance.

These are all normal things we typically experience on race day. Except when the race is the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside 10K that starts at 10 a.m. (Yes! 10 a.m. Hallelujah!) and is less than 2 miles from your front door. (Ok, ok, the focus on pre-race pooping still happened! #unladylike)

On Saturday morning, Mr. rUnladylike and I took on the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside 10K – a local neighborhood 10K that drew more than 1,000 runners and benefited Atlanta’s effort (aka the Atlanta BeltLine) to connect in-town neighborhoods by providing a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor. About 2 miles of the BeltLine is complete, which is where this 6.2 mile jaunt began and ended.

Going into the race, I wanted to run at least 48 minutes or faster and have a fun morning. After last month’s 5K PR, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do in a race doubling the distance.

Admittedly, this past week has been somewhat abysmal when it comes to nutrition and exercise. Translation: I’ve eaten crap and missed some workouts because I was lazy and tired. Translation: I’ve eaten Mac ‘n’ Cheese more than once and might have downed a bag of Twizzlers. From out of nowhere, I’ve also become an insomniac during the past 2 weeks and have been getting very little sleep compared to my normal 8 hours. Suffice this all to say, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was confident that I had it in me to get the job done.

I was beyond pleased with the outcome.

Before the Race

• I got about 5.5 hours of sleep.
• My pre-race breakfast consisted of an everything bagel, a hard-boiled egg and a cup of Naked juice 2 hours before the race start. (I also had some water up until an hour before the start.)
• We arrived about 25 minutes before the race start and did a short warm-up jog with dynamic stretching to get loose.

The Conditions and Course

• The weather was overcast and 45 degrees with 10 mph winds at the start. I wore shorts and a tank top with Brooks Running arm warmers, gloves and ear warmers, which I ended up taking off after mile 4.

• Miles 1 and 2 were flat/fast on the paved BeltLine. It was easy to fly on this section.
• Mile 3 was on a trail with very rough gravel and grass (and muddy patches given all the rain this week), ending with a short, steep hill. This section makes the race particularly unique given that you have a mix of road and trail. However, it also slows the pace due to the technical terrain.
• Mile 4 was rolling paved hills through a park (Piedmont Park for those familiar with Atlanta).
• Miles 5 and 6 were back on the BeltLine with a very slight incline on the way back.

• Good volunteer support was provided along the race route, although I didn’t partake in any hydration during the race.
• Spectator support was nearly non-existent.

The Results

• I ran a huge 10K PR of 45:06 (7:16/mile). I was 2nd in my age group, the 9th woman, and 63rd overall out of 1,029 runners. Woo. Hoo. I am particularly proud of this given the very challenging third mile with chunky gravel.
• I ran the worst possible race on paper, even though the terrain indicates that it gets tougher as you go through each third of the race. My miles were progressively slower (which I would coach you to reverse) and they looked like this: 6:56, 7:12, 7:26, 7:22, 7:38, 7:31, 7:05 (last 0.2).
• I felt good for the first half of the race, but miles 3 and 4 took it out of me a bit. I really felt myself slowing during mile 5 and could feel my body wanting to give up/give in. I just tried to keep pushing and thinking I could do anything for 10 more minutes. I saw the numbers 44 on the race clock when I was about 100 yards away. I sprinted as fast as I could to try to squeak in under 45, but just couldn’t quite make it.
• Mr. rUnladylike also ran a PR of 44:05. Woot!

After the Race

• Fun characters were giving high fives at the finish line.

• The post-race goodies were nice for a neighborhood 10K. We received a squirt water bottle after crossing the finish line and a long-sleeve technical shirt.

• The atmosphere was festive. Neighborhoods and sports teams competed in groups for fastest and most spirited.
• I retrieved my pre-race throwaways, which were exactly where I left them (how cool is that?!?) and we were home in less than 10 minutes.

For anyone in Atlanta, I would recommend the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside 10K. It is fun and low key, it benefits a great cause and it’s a USATF certified course and Peachtree Road Race qualifying race.

In case you missed it, check out my Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide for Runners (and Triathletes). You won’t find 15 better gift ideas! The gloves I wore during this race made the list!

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Did you run long or race this weekend? If so, how did it go? What are your thoughts on the 10K race distance? Love it or hate it?