1st Place Female Overall WRH 10K 2013

1st Place Female Overall WRH 10K 2013.  It has a nice ring to it, right?! 

I found out about the Winslow Residential Hall 5K/10K last week and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to fit it in with our busy family's schedule.  About an hour before the race things worked out that I could go (thanks Uncle Jason for babysitting!).  As Larissa, my mom, and I signed up, I decided to just do the 5K with them.  We warmed up a little and I kept seeing the people who were doing the 10K and I felt a little envious.  I kept going back and forth if I should just do it or not.  I wasn't worried about the distance (although let's be honest, I haven't been logging many miles while doing P90X2), but I was more worried about getting home to my family sooner.  As they announced for the 10Kers to line up I couldn't take it anymore and switched my entry to the 10K.  Off we went!

What can I say, it was a dreadful "out" and a wonderful "back" course.  It was uphill, into a strong headwind, and with the sun blaring right into our eyes on the way out.  I just ran slow and steady and noticed that I only saw guys ahead of me.  At about mile 2 I had the thought that maybe I was actually the first female!  This never happens for me, usually because I'm running with Larissa and she's always going to be ahead of me.  When I got to the turnaround point (at 3.7 miles!) I could check out everyone ahead and behind me.  Sure enough I was the first female.  There was one lady pretty close behind me so as soon as I turned around and had the wind at my back, with 3 miles of downhill ahead of me, I was able to pick up the pace.  I was determined not to let her pass me.  I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout, although I could feel my energy getting low.  I definitely didn't fuel properly for a 10K race that day. 

I kept sneaking glances and noticed that the lady behind me wasn't getting any closer, if anything I was getting farther ahead of her.  I kicked it in and heard them announce, "Here comes the female 10K winner!" and everyone was clapping.  It may have been a small, low-key race but you know what?  It was a great confidence booster for me.

 

Obviously the course wasn't a true 10K, more like 7.3 miles in the heat, wind, and hills, but I'll take it!  Best of all it was free, including a technical race shirt, medals, trophies, and finish line snacks!