Meteor 10k

Last Saturday I ran in my first 10k, The Meteor 10k. It had to be the most fun race I ever ran it, and I rocked it :)

First the weather was PERFECT! It was about 39 degrees, and the sun was shining so it felt like it was probably low 50's. I had to pick up my race packet before the race, since that was the only time it was allowed. So when I got there the line was pretty long. But 5 minutes in line, they started a new line for #300 and up, so that was me. :) So only 10 minutes in line for that. I still had a good 30 minutes till race time. So I went back to the car, and dropped my stuff off. And wandered around for a few.

Soon it was time to line up, I lined up probably at the halfway point. I didnt want to get ran over, so tried to stay more towards the back and off to the side. And off we went. As I turned on my ipod I realized I grabbed bad headphones. The ones I normally wear always fall out of my ears, so I grabbed some other ones. One of the ear buds didnt work. Dang it! But one ear bud working is better than none ;)

I felt I started off at a good pace, and tried to find my rhythm. It was weird because we did a 1 mile loop at the beginning so passed the start line again. Than we routed out to a main road. At mile 1 I was on target for a 10 minute mile. Which is what I maintained on my last race. I still felt pretty good. Mile 2 and 3 were still on the main road, so the scenery wasnt that great. Lots of gawkers in cars. lol I was around 10 - 11 minute miles through those 2 miles. Than after mile 3 we started to go downhill into a bike path/park. I gained some speed there, and just went with it. I literally was just gliding at that point. It felt great! I liked running on the bike path, and it felt familiar. This was part of the 3 day route last year! :)

We reached a water station around mile 3.5, so I walked through that. And than started back up and was a little winded at first but found my rhythm. Mile 4 was the turnaround ( it did feel like a far out for a turnaround) and I noticed I was around 40 minutes although I felt I was going much slower. Sweet! After the turnaround I felt a burst of energy in me, and I kicked it up a notch. My legs were just moving and I was feeling pretty fantastic. At mile 5 I started to get excited and kicked it up another notch. I was really making some good strides at this point. Than a steep hill came up. I so remember this on the 3 day to, this is the exact spot where I realized I had walked 55 miles and felt fantastic. I smiled and said, well here I go. I shortened my strides, and jogged right up that hill like it was nothing. I was a bit winded at the top so slowed down a bit to catch my breath. Glanced at my watch, and said holy crap, could I finish in an hour? I sure could, so went back to the speed I was at before the hill. I did start to choke a bit on my spit. I think I was breathing to hard and dry mouth and it caused choking or something. I have heard of people chewing gummies or something?

Anyhoo, there was one more tiny hill, and the downhill felt nice. Now I could see the finish line, about quarter mile, or maybe a half mile left. A safety woman said now is your time to pass your almost there. I said it sure is, and started sprinting. My strides felt great, and I actually felt like a runner! I pushed it to the end and crossed the finish line around 1:00:40

Later that afternoon they posted the times on runmichigan.com, and I did better than I thought. 1:00:05, my pace was 9:41, and I finished 38th out of 84 in my age group. Overrall 361 out of 713.

What an awesome day.

Im glad I was able to run this race. The half Im running in a few weeks is pretty hilly. I havent had a chance to run to many hills since my neighborhood is relatively flat. So getting in some hills defintely was good practice. Ill know how to pace myself on the hills a little bit better, rather than going in blindsided.

I am so proud of myself. I truly can see the difference in my fitness level, and endurance. I am starting to feel comfortable in running, and am really excited for my half.

Wow Im really going to run in this half marathon. Life is good. :)