December 19, 2011

Christmas Carol 10k Race Report

So, I don't know what made me register for this race, but I guess I've just been having a hard time finding the motivation to start working out again after IMAZ and I thought this would be a good kick start!

This was an inaugural race at City Park, one of my favorite places to race, and it had a 5k and 10k option.  I have done sooo many 5k races that I just finally decided to do the 10k.  I have actually never really done a 10k race (except a local race in college), so I was kind of excited about it.  But, the fact that I had only ran twice since IMAZ added a little bit of nervousness too!

The temp. on race morning was supposed to be in the low 30s, so my husband decided to stay home with our boys.  Because I didn't know how long this race would take me, this was the best option because I didn't want my boys out in the freezing temps. for a long period of time.

So, I headed to the race dressed in my warmest gear.
I love how the stripes match  my shoes..ha ha!
I had to park about 1/2M away, so walking to the start was COLD, COLD, COLD!!  I could see my breath and wondered why in the world I had decided to run a race in these temps!

I got to the start, and was looking for the packet pick-up, when I saw this gigantic line of people waiting to pick up their bibs.  Are you kidding me??  At this point, it was 8:45 and the race was scheduled to start at 9A, so I jumped in line and waited.  It took about 15min. for me to get my bib.  It turns out there was only 1 person handing out bibs for the 10k race.  I felt really bad for that volunteer, but really it's the race director's fault.  That was just ridiculous!  

So, I pinned on my bib, did some business at the port-a-potty, then went to line up at the start.  They ended up starting the race a little late because of the line, but I seriously waited in line for ~1 minute before the gun went off!  YIKES!  This wasn't a chip timed event, so it took me awhile to get to the start line with all the people/5k walkers (we all started together).

Within the first 100 feet, it started to thin out and I quickly found my groove.  Before I left for the race my husband said, "You better run sub 8 miles!" He was joking of course, but a little voice in my head said, "What if??"

So, here I was, running in the cold, and I felt AWESOME!  My legs felt fast!  I looked at my Garmin and I was running around 7:30.  At first I thought, "You better slow down!"  But then, something inside of me changed and I started believing that I COULD keep up a sub 8:00 pace and I wanted to try and give this race my all!

The miles kept clicking by and I couldn't believe how great I felt.  I was passing people who started the 10k really fast, then before I knew it, I was passing people who were walking the 5k course (the 10k course was 2 loops of the 5k course).  I was working hard to keep up  my pace, but I was having a BLAST at the same time!

Finally, I hit mile 5.  There were these 3 guys running in front of me who had been ahead of me the entire race.  They were losing steam though, and before I knew it, I was right next to them.  Well, I don't think they liked the fact that a girl was going to pass them, because all 3 of them totally picked up the pace and sprinted really fast the last 1/2M to the finish.  I couldn't keep up with them, but part of me wished I would have been able to match their speed and pass them at the end...ha ha! :)

I reached the finish line and saw a 47:50 on the time clock!  Woohoo!!

Even though I was freezing, and my legs were killing me at the end,  I am sooo glad I did this race!  I pushed myself, set a PR for a 10k race, and had fun while doing it!  I can't ask for a better race than that! :)

Results:
(I'm going off my Garmin, because it wasn't chip timed and I had to wait awhile to get to the start line.)
Time: 47:40
Pace: 7:41/mile   WOOHOO! :)
30-39AG Place: 6/65
Overall: 39/264  

23 comments:

Dawn said...

THAT's AWESOME!!!!!!!
Good on ya....and next time you'll pass 'em;)

TriMOEngr said...

Holy crap! That sounds like an awesome race at an awesome pace! Way to rock the cold temps (love the orange stripes with orange shoes). Depressing that I think I did my Jingle Bell Hell 5K this weekend (which was a bit over 5K I later realized) in about the same time as it took you to do 10k! Awesome!

Unknown said...

Woot! You are speedy! Nice job!!

Julie said...

Great job Aimee! Love how you pushed yourself to do what you didn't think you could! And love the orange pants/shoes!

J. L. said...

Yay! So excited for you!!! What a great Way to get back into things after IMAZ! When I grow up I want to run fast like you.

Michael said...

That's so AWESOME!!! Congrats!

I totally love the pants/shoes combo!

Unknown said...

Congrats on the PR! That IM base is still paying off nicely!

Raina said...

Great job on the PR! That's solid!

Very crazy not to have more people handing out bibs though. The RD hopefully learned a lesson.

Great report :)

Jill said...

Nice job, girl!! I looked at doing that race a few times but knew I had that long run to do and couldn't fit the race in. I'm glad you felt so great!!!

You've never run the Bolder Boulder? A race you must do someday if you haven't!!! Such an experience!

Elysian said...

Thanks for supporting the idea of 360 degree feedback. I’ve seen it create division in senior teams when handled incorrectly and seen transformation happen when used elegantly. It’s all about the intention and skill of those who facilitate the process.
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Johann said...

Great run! Excellent time! I have never done a 5km race but I've run 136 10km races.

Born To Endure said...

Love the whole matchy matchy thing :)

Christi said...

What a great race! Congrats!

Unknown said...

Aimee, that's awesome! Congrats!!!!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Wow, that is awesome, congrats!!!

B.o.B. said...

wooo hooooo! congrats!! awesome time!!! you'll def catch them next time.

Missy said...

Holy Moly way to go speedy.

Jason said...

yee-haa!!!!! That is just awesome. Way to go Speedy McSpeedster.

Unknown said...

Just completed an Ironman and still have speed to boot? Wonderwoman! :)

bobbi said...

Holy FAST!! Nice job!

(and thank you SO MUCH for my perfect present!!)

Caratunk Girl said...

Holy crap!! You are speedy!!! Congrats!

Alisa said...

Woo hoo for a new PR and post IM!

You're going to transition to trail races and ultras (if you go there) no problem!

Kathleen said...

Great race! I am not surprised at your results :)