My boss was gracious enough to let me come in late to work on the 4th. There was a 10k that I wanted to run, plus it meant I would be able to sleep in. I was able to wake up at 7:00 am instead of the usual 5:00 to get my run in! The day had already started off great. I woke up ready to race. I decided to look at the temperature so that I could dress appropriately as the day before it had already been 80Ëš by the time 8 o’clock rolled around. To our surprise, it was only 50Ëš and it looked like it wasn’t going to warm up too much for the race. After slowly getting ready, we made our way out the door. This race was a little weird as they were not having bibs, but doing only chip timing. (I later went and made bibs for our wall. I was disappointed I wouldn’t have another one to hang up).
We arrived at the parking spot with less than 15 minutes to spare. Usually I am there at least 30 minutes prior. It’s just the way I am. There was no need for this race as there were only about 140 runners and the parking spot was also the starting line. We found my co-worker who was there to cheer on her son running the 5k and her daughter-in-law running the 10k. She frequently tells me about her daughter-in-law because of her love for running. It was nice to finally meet her since I have heard so much about her. We chatted with them for a little while before finding my racing buddy. This time, she was not there to run, but to cheer on her husband. She decided to sit this one out and enjoy it from a spectators perspective.
We toed the starting line and began the race. A little bit into the race, we both remembered that we had done sprints the morning before. I could tell my legs were feeling it. None the less we ran ahead at a decent pace. The race was on a trail system on the north side of town. We have done a few little things on these trails over here, but not much. It was a nice change of pace. The temperature was nice, but the sun was stil beating down on us. I warmed up really fast. Soon we were coming near the finish line, but wait! We were in the 10k so we had one more loop to go. Running so close to the finish line was a bit too much of a teaser. We headed out on the second and final loop of the race. We only had three miles to go, but my legs were screaming at me. I felt my body slow down a little bit, but I think Brent’s was slowing down even more.
I kept turning around as Brent was usually just behind me. I was encouraging him to keep going as we were getting closer and closer to the end. My co-worker was on different parts of the course cheering us on! It was great to have someone around giving you a bit of encouragement. My race buddy was doing the same thing! Even though it was a small race, it was a very encouraging one!
Brent and I crossed the line together at 48:46.7. I knew I was close to at least placing in my age group if not overall for women. We decided to wait around to hear the results. We hung out with my co-worker and her family as her daughter-in-law was convinced that I had placed. They started drawing for some raffle prizes and oddly enough, Brent won something! It turned out to be a women’s visor, but neither of us ever win anything. It was pretty exciting. They were finally up to the 10k results and I just missed placing for the overall all women by two spots. I came in 5th. Then they got to the age group, I came in 4th. So close! Just as we were saying goodbye to everyone, they called Brent’s name. He got first in his age group! We both were surprised but excited that he had won!
We headed out to go home and clean up for work. A little while after I got to work, my co-worker and her daughter-in-law came back to my office. The daughter-in-law thought that I deserved to place so she made me a medal of my own. It was a tasty sugar cookie with a gold ribbon! How sweet is that? My medal rocked, because I got to eat it! All in all, it was a great race experience.
Results:
Brent – 48:46.7 – Overall: 14 out of 59 – Age Group: 1 out of 6 – Pace: 7:50 min/mi
Jessica – 48:46.7 – Overall: 15 out of 59 – Age Group: 4 out of 14 – Pace: 7:50 min/mi
I will have to look back on my previous 10ks, but I think this might be a PR! Enjoy the pictures. The ones without the logo came from my co-worker! Thanks for taking pictures of us!