A Mile or More in My [Running] Shoes

After some issues with my Garmin, I finally have yesterday’s PR 10k race uploaded… 

The morning was chilly. I usually make sure to have my bib and everything pre-race to avoid the hassle of getting it taken care of on race day. (One less thing to worry about a few more minutes of sleep.) This race though, I wasn’t able to make it to the 3 hour pick-up window on Friday so I arrived at the race start early. It was a chilly wait with Alice, but well worth it.

The course was in Riverside Park and it was my first time running there. I noticed how hilly it was as I walked to the start and was admittedly a little intimidated. Within the first .5 mile there was a giant hill (and the course was a double loop) so on my way up the first time I reminded myself that I would have to do it again. Leave something for later - there’s a lot of race left! I reminded myself to keep my feet underneath me and to not go crazy on the downhill, but to use it to recover instead. I think this race was the first race I have run where I really paid attention to running a smart race. I actually put thought into it instead of just running fast - and it paid off!

Official times aren’t posted yet, but my Garmin said I finished at 54:57. My previous 10k PR time was 1:01:01. (I’m really excited to see what I can do with the Coogan’s 5k and my standing 5k PR in a month.) I will update with the official time once it’s available. 

**OFFICIAL TIME: 54:40 (69 of 191)