The race started at 8:00 am which was nice in that I didn't have to get up at a cra-cra early time. Chris joined me for this race so I had a travel buddy and someone to keep me company until the race started. He also came in handy as a personal heater to keep me warm until it was time to head to the start. By 8:00 am when the race started it was still quite chilly but the sky was clear, the sun was shining and the air was calm - Fall running in Minnesota at its finest. The race course basically follows the Mississippi River along West and East River Parkway. It's a relatively flat course overall but has some pretty good size hills scattered throughout to keep things interesting. My primary goal for this race was to enjoy the run and feel good at the finish.
The race started out like most - crowded and slow. Since I wasn't really concerned about my time I didn't bother weaving through the crowd too much. My first mile came in at just over 10 minutes which is actually right around normal for my first mile. By mile 2 my hands had warmed up enough to let them peek out of my sleeves for the rest of the run. The next 4 miles flew by in a relatively uneventful manner. And then, just as I passed mile 6, my ipod konked out on me - it just stopped playing. I could have stopped or tried to fiddle around with it on the run but I chose to just stash my headphones in my shirt and finish the race without music. Luckily, I've been running without my headphones more frequently so this wasn't a big deal. In fact, I actually run faster without my headphones as my split times below show.
Split times:
Mile Time
| 1 | 10:09 | ||
| 2 | 9:29 | ||
| 3 | 9:27 | ||
| 4 | 9:12 | ||
| 5 | 9:22 | ||
| 6 | 8:47 | ||
| 7 | 9:06 | ||
| 8 | 9:05 | ||
| 9 | 9:07 | ||
| 10 | 9:02 | ||
I had a really good race. I felt strong the whole time, I managed the hills well and I passed more people than I was passed by. I crossed the finish line with my best 10 Mile time this year. My official time was 1:33:43 (9:23 pace) - 460 out of 1129 runners (all women).
I have two more 10 Mile races on my plans this fall. Next up is the TC 10 Mile. It will be my first time running this race and I am really looking forward to it. Based on the reviews I've read from previous runners and my personal experience with the Women Run the Cities race I'm leaning toward not wearing headphones. I'd like to shave some time off my finish but my primary goal will be to enjoy the race and finish strong. In addition to running the TC 10 Mile I'm looking forward to watching the first finishers of the Twin Cities Marathon finish the race - should be a REALLY good time.
Special thanks to my number one fan - my sweet husband who sacrificed sleep, endured the chilly temps and was there to encourage me before and after the race. I'm am blessed to share my life with him and call him mine.
No comments:
Post a Comment