This past Sunday, I ran my fifth 10k! I love the 10k distance – 6.2 miles is far enough that I feel like I’m getting a really solid workout, but short enough that it doesn’t take too much out of me and doesn’t require much training as long as I’m running regularly.
Before Sunday came, I was really hoping to PR, or finish the distance faster than I ever have. Lately, as I mentioned in my half marathon training update last week, I’ve been running more mileage and covering it faster than I ever have, so I figured it would be no problem. But then as race day drew nearer, some circumstances made me readjust my goal and just want to finish the race strong.
Last week I ended up getting super sick and was out of work for two days, completely knocked out from a cold! Because of that, I hadn’t run since Monday by the time race day came (so almost a full week), and then, to boot, the weather ended up being very cold and drizzly on the morning of the race. Good conditions to run in when you’re getting over a cold, I’m sure.
Saturday during the day, I went and did my packet pickup to get my bib and was THRILLED to see the jackets we got for the race instead of t-shirts:
How nice is that!?
I laid all my stuff out the night before, per usual:
And then woke up in the morning and made a standard pre-run breakfast:
A cinnamon raisin whole wheat English muffin toasted with 1/2 a sliced banana and chocolate better ‘n peanut butter.
I made myself some coffee and got a water bottle, and then headed to get in my car. When I got down there, I realized that overnight someone had decided to park right next to me and essentially blocked my car into the space so I couldn’t move it. I was glad I’d left enough time and surprised myself by not freaking out at all, and (calmly) ended up walking to the race site, which was about 2 miles. I could have biked, but it was raining, and I get nervous biking in the rain so I just used my feet instead.
Walking to the race site kind of threw off my game-plan. I couldn’t bring my coffee or water bottle, and I just hadn’t planned on walking 2 miles before the race, so I wish I’d have brought more fuel with me for the race itself, buuuut I didn’t. So I dealt. Plus, the views weren’t too bad on the walk there…
The other issue was, when I got to the start area, there was a HUGE line that I figured was for on-site registration and was glad to not be standing in.
But then, I looked around and realized the line was actually for bag check (that little blue tend towards the left side of the above photo), so I needed to get in it after all. It was pretty much a cluster, so I just waited and hoped for the best, and then 5 minutes before gun time, they yelled “BAGS” and everyone just charged the tent and somehow I ended up checking my bag and getting to the start line in time.
I met up with my friends who were also running the race:
Me, Stacy, Rhea, Caroline and Amber.
And off we went! The course itself was fast and flat, and an out-and-back. When I passed the mile 2 mark, the runners leading the pack were running past me in the other direction, already passing the 4 mile marker. They were going SO fast! It’s always fun to cheer for the people leading the race and get that extra pep in my step.
Miles 2-4 were pretty uneventful since before long I saw the 3 mile mark, and then it was time to turn around at the 5k mark, and then the 4 mile mark came and went.
Once I got past that marker, I started to struggle a bit. I was cold, wet, and was feeling pretty hungry because of the extra unplanned 2 miles I tacked on beforehand. I had to dig pretty deep to keep going, and just kept picking runners that were ahead of me to try to keep up with and follow their pace.
Before long, I saw the 5 mile mark, and then after what seemed like a VERY long mile, I saw the 6, and was almost there. I didn’t have it in me to sprint much for the last .2, but I knew I was cutting it really close to PRing so I just tried to go as fast as I could. And then, I crossed the glorious finish line and was DONE.
Yessssss!
I waited and cheered for the runners after me while I waited for a few of my friends to finish, and then went and checked the time reports to see if I had PRed.
And, despite the rain, despite the cold, despite the sickness, and despite the extra 2 mile walk, I did it! I finished 20 seconds faster than my fastest time yet, for a final time of 55:21, which is an 8:54 pace.
I was SO HAPPY to be done, to have a new PR, andddd to get out of the rain. This race left me feeling really confident with where I am with running, and that’s what matters the most.
