10k- the good, the bad, and the ugly

What a fun, fun day. We woke up early (which was a little hard because we were all still tired from our Marine World trip the day before,) got dressed in our running attire, and shoveled down some whole wheat toast. Forrest was very helpful in getting the kids ready so I could concentrate on myself. My mom rode down with us, and we arrived at The Parkway at about 7:45 a.m.

The kids 1/2 mile race was first. Ashlee did really well; she was passing kids up left and right. She says she fell once, but I missed that one. The place was packed.

Afterwards they had a raffle for the kids where they gave away 8 free bikes and tons of other prizes. Ashlee got a coupon for a free chiropractic exam, a 3 day pass to Family Fitness, and a free personal pizza from Round Table. Then we headed across the street for my race, which started at 8:25 a.m. I was a little nervous, but ready to go. There were 306 runners competing.

Here's me coming up to the finish line.

Finally, the battle wounds. Check out those blisters! I guess I ignored the pain while I was running, but the first thing I did after crossing the finish line was kick off my shoes. It doesn't make sense that I got blisters, because I was wearing the same shoes that I always run in. I think it was the heat.


Well, I have to say that I was a little disappointed in my time of 1:11:42. I placed 224 out of 306 runners, so I don't think I was as prepared as I could've been. During my training, I consistently ran a 10 min. mile, so I was hoping to come in around 60 min. or less. The heat was a killer, and that is what slowed me down. During the first 3 miles I estimated myself to be in about the top 30-50% of runners, but towards the 2nd half (miles 3-6) runners started passing me up and I had to stop and walk quite a few times. And, the last mile was uphill in the direct sun, which didn't help! I didn't have a watch, so it was difficult to guage my progress. Also, next time I would definitely like to run with a buddy. It was hard being alone. I tried to talk to people a few times, but they all had their little i-pods plugged into their ears, so they were non-responsive.

Overall, this was a good experience. It was fun having my family there waiting for me at the finish line. I also liked being in a diverse group of people who all had one goal in mind- to do their best and finish! I saw all sorts of runners- some were as young as 12, while others were as old as 70. Some were heavy and some were thin. There were even a couple of moms pushing strollers- I about died when the lady with the double stroller came running past me. It took all of my will power not to grab onto the handle (whether to help myself or slow her down, I can not say.) They say these runs are addicting. Yesterday I was saying, "I don't think I want to do that again any time soon." But today I am already ready. It's kind of like labor- you forget the pain after a while. There is another one in August, and I just might run it. Only this time I will know to do my long run more often, and to train in the heat. Running has become one of my favorite passions, even when I am only competing against myself. This 10k was a good culmination to all of my training. It was worth the rain, the hail, the heat, the geese, the pecking birds- all of it. I look forward to taking what I learned from it to improve from here. Until then, I'll see you on the trails...