I am sore.

And this may come as a surprise, dear and faithful readers, but sometimes I can be very, very dumb.

Last weekend, I ran in my second race with my brother-in-law. After starting with the Get In Gear 10K this spring, we decided to up our game and tackle the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile last Sunday.

After my 10K, I wrote about a few of the lessons I learned from running the race, and this time I wanted to share again.

You may ask: Why am I surprised at being sore after running 10 miles? Because I did some stupid things that didn’t give my body what it needed to heal.

Hydration and time

After a run, you really can’t drink enough. WATER. I mean water, not booze.

Now, the fine folks at Summit Brewing Co. offered free beers to anyone who finished and showed their ID and a coupon on you race bib, but beer after running that far sounded terrible. I skipped it.

Now while I was good at this during my training runs, I really dropped the ball after my 10-mile race in terms of rehydrating. I drank two little cups of free sports drinks at the finish, I guzzled a bottle of water my sister handed me, but then I proceeded to forget about being dehydrated as I spent the remainder of a pleasant day in the Twin Cites.

By the time I got to work Monday, I was feeling more run down than normal after a long run. And then I realized I’d neglected to A. Drink enough water in general, B. Drink my usual post-run protein shake, and C. I’d forgotten I ran a hilly route.

Your body burns through a lot of water and calories during a 10-mile race, especially when you’re amped on race day adrenaline. My free running app (which estimated my time and pace slightly off) estimated that I burned 1,801 calories during the race.

While the accuracy is questionable, it’s a good sign that replenishing is important.

This would have have all been well and fine, but then I opted to go to the YMCA for a workout over lunch Monday since I had to work late and cover an Austin Public Schools board meeting.

I’ll just squeeze in a light workout, I thought. You guessed it: This was dumb. I dismounted my first workout machine, and my thighs screamed at me a little … which they did the rest of Monday and Tuesday, especially whenever I walked down stairs.

Enjoy the experience

The Medtronic TC 10 Mile run follows a picturesque route — even with all the godforsaken hills. The race kicked off at 7 a.m. in the US Bank Stadium lot, weaved around the Mississippi River toward the south before cutting east and following Summit Avenue to the Minnesota State Capitol.

I am in the Twin Cities very often with family and friends to see, and I’m often within blocks of the race route; however, I got to see the area in a new light while running for a few miles along the Mississippi River.

I rocked a Twin Cities listens over the course with a bit of an audiobook of “The Great Gatsby” by St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald and then with Prince’s “Purple Rain,” probably the quintessential Minneapolis album.

And I had several loved ones at the end of the race cheering me on — even though I completely failed to see or hear them (a side effect of headphones, I suppose) as I approached the finish. Summit Avenue in particular also proved a great running route.

Plan for your conditions

While I’d run somewhat routine 10-mile runs over the past few months and managed to get my best time on race day, I neglected to train for one key component of the Medtronic race: the hills.

The race cuts along the Mississippi River for a few miles before jetting into St. Paul toward the capitol. A good chunk of the middle of the race goes steadily up hill, including a lovely hill around the 8.5- to 9-mile mark.

My runs around Austin on the trails and at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center did little to help with this.

On the plus side, there was a nice downhill slope in the home stretch that helped pick up speed in my final sprint to the finish … but it leveled out just as I kicked it into gear for my final dash, making the final flat feet feel like a nice challenge.

Oh, and have your family bring a fresh shirt. Raceday was cold with temperatures in the mid-30s. I started the race cold, warmed up by the middle and ended a warm sweat ball. Then I proceeded to stand around outside for a half hour and get cold and wet. My teeth were chattering by the time we left.

Camaraderie

In my two experiences running chip-timed races, I’ve run across very few arrogant or judgmental runners.

When I started running, I expected it to feel a bit like my gym class and mile-run nightmares from my years in school. I was not a very fit child and I hated running in those days, especially since it felt like nothing more than an excuse to show my inadequacies when compared to the other kids.

I expected big races like this to feel the same and shied away from them for many years when I started running for fun. However, the runs are just the opposite. Everyone is supportive, and there’s always a good number of people along the route cheering all the runners on and holding signs.

For the vast majority of racers, they’re focused on besting their own times with few cares for the collective herd of runners.

The races take on a “We’re all in this together” vibe, even though someone is likely going to destroy your time.

Case in point: I was pretty tickled with my time of 1 hour, 26 minutes and 2 seconds — or an average pace of 8 minutes and 37 seconds per mile. The winner, Sam Chelanga of Tucson, Arizona, finished in 47 minutes and 25 seconds at a 4 minutes, 45 seconds per mile pace. Oh, and my dad says he passed the guy who led for most of the race in the home stretch.

My time graded me solidly in the middle of the road: 190th our of 429 men in the 22 to 29 age bracket. Overall, I got 2,131st out of 9,201 runners. Take that, you 7,070 runners I beat! Yes, I’m kidding.

And remember to keep an eye out for people you know around you. Days later, I searched the results to find six others from Austin ran in the race, including Woodson Principal Jessica Cabeen and someone I knew as a teen from Albert Lea. I wish I could have said hello them on race day.

Running up a commitment

The camaraderie of race day comes in part from the culmination of training.

Training for a 10-mile race is completely different than a 10K. In my 10K training, I just started running an hour. So with warmup, cool down, prep and shower time, you were looking at maybe an hour and half if you were efficient.

For my 10-mile training runs, the total experience was pushing well past two hours. This proves to be a good chunk of time to bite off each week when you’re balancing the needs of daily life too.

It just gave me all the more respect for the people where able to run and finish the marathon that day.