State Farm Run

Race report!!

Hubs and I ready for ten miles!
I raced the State Farm 10 mile yesterday.  I was pretty happy to have made it to the start line.  This was the 3rd time I'd registered for this race, but only the 1st time I'd been able to run.  The first time I was injured to the point where I couldn't run at all.  Last year, I was injured and went ahead and ran the 5k instead of the 10 mile. 

From the photo, you can see that it started out overcast.  It was about 60 degrees at 9am.  This race is sort of a late start, as most years, it's been snowy or cold and rainy.  We sure could have used some cool weather yesterday.

We were chatting with several people when we should have been lining up.  Next thing I know, they raise the flag and we take our hats off for the Star Spangled Banner.  We happened to be towards the front, and working our way to the back was out of the question.  

When the gun went off, I did my best to settle in to my pace.  I wanted to go out at a 10:50 - 11:00/mi pace to conserve and run negative splits.  I was too far to the front for that, and I ended up in the low 9's for the first mile trying not to get run over.

I did manage to slow down, but was feeling good and didn't take my 45-60sec walk breaks every mile.  This strategy is one that I use in training for any run over 10k.  It helps to prevent injury and has afforded me faster times.  Sounds strange - but I run faster after a little walk break.

Basking in the glow of a PR
The sun came out and the temps rose after the halfway mark.  I was fortunate to listen to my husband and brought my hydration belt.  The aid stations were at really inconvenient places - so while looking at the map, we agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry.  Water at mile 1, 4, 7 and 9 on a 10 mile course was kinda "off."

Though I slowed considerably in the last 3 miles - I did finish with a 10 mile PR.  My legs were really tired...so much so that I was a little confused. ???  I just did 9 miles the week before, and have done 10, 11, and 12 at least once already this year.  Was it the lack of walk breaks that made such a huge difference?

Either way - new PR.  10 miles in 1:48:44.  That's a 10:38 pace.  I'm well set up for a 2:20 half marathon in May.  Let's hope that it's not 70 degrees!

Race photos are always so - um - good.  They were snapping these photos about a half mile from the finish line.  I'm so grateful that I saw the dude and smiled!  Note to self - black top and neon shorts makes for a "does this make my butt look big" sort of outfit.  Okay for training, but maybe not on race day!

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Comments

  1. Gah I'm so sad I missed this!!!
    I think you're outfit is awesome. ;-)
    Also congrats on the PR!! Hope to see you this weekend for Race for Grace!

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