I went into the race with good spirits and plenty of training but lack of sleep and a nervous stomach. I lagged behind the rest of the fam for the start so that I wouldn't feel compelled to go harder than I can sustain and get tired in the first half mile. I passed Josh pretty quickly in the run but wasn't thinking about the Race within the Race just yet; completely focusing on being consistent and staying strong. The first mile was a little hectic with so many runners and a small road way, but it felt great and helped me get rid of some of my butterflies at 8:53.
About the 1.5 mile marker, I caught up to Mom who mentioned Reese wasn't too far ahead. I had to remind myself to stay steady and just hope that my training would prevail and he would lose his steam. The sun was beaming and it was extremely hot, but I pushed through and clocked a 9:00 flat mile. They had water set up at this point and it was much needed as the course offered very little coverage and even for November, it was hot. In the 3rd mile, I could see I was gaining distance from Josh and was hoping to see both Dad and Reese at the turn around. Held steady in this mile with another 9:00 mile.
As I approached the half way point turn around I saw that Reese was just about 100 yards ahead but seemingly running strong. He never saw me at the turn around and had no idea how close I was. I never saw Dad and was concerned he had dropped out (having spent the previous 24 hours in the hospital lack of potassium again, I was expecting him to run a little easy). Luckily at the turn around I had some awesome back to back music come on which helped to keep the pace going. I caught up to Reese at about the 3.8 mile mark and it felt great. I was mostly focused on racing a race I could be proud of but knowing that I could potentially beat him (just a little friendly sibling rivalry) really put a smile on my face. We ran together for about a minute and he confirmed that dad was in fact still in the race. I knew I could never catch him or run his speed but the thought of closing the gap helped finish up the 4th mile at 8:57. I was actually feeling a little tired and slowed a bit with a 9:11 at the 5 mile mark. By this point I was still leading Reese and glad to be in the final stretch of the race.
Although time was last on the list of goals for the day, I quickly saw that I over estimated the time it would take to run the race...which felt great. I wanted to pick my pace up for the last 1.2 miles to try and hit under the 56 minute mark. I stayed focused and didn't look down once at my watch for the last part. Just focused on running my hardest and finishing hard. Overall I was very happy with my time at 55:51; but with a 9:00 average mile pace, I would like to see my next 10K be in the 8 minute range.
We held the annual awards ceremony once we got back home and all that participated got a sweet trophy. I took 2nd in the fam and mine was topped with a cow. There is no real explanation for the types or sizes of the trophies picked but it sure was a great ceremony. There has been a few changes for the race next year:
As I approached the half way point turn around I saw that Reese was just about 100 yards ahead but seemingly running strong. He never saw me at the turn around and had no idea how close I was. I never saw Dad and was concerned he had dropped out (having spent the previous 24 hours in the hospital lack of potassium again, I was expecting him to run a little easy). Luckily at the turn around I had some awesome back to back music come on which helped to keep the pace going. I caught up to Reese at about the 3.8 mile mark and it felt great. I was mostly focused on racing a race I could be proud of but knowing that I could potentially beat him (just a little friendly sibling rivalry) really put a smile on my face. We ran together for about a minute and he confirmed that dad was in fact still in the race. I knew I could never catch him or run his speed but the thought of closing the gap helped finish up the 4th mile at 8:57. I was actually feeling a little tired and slowed a bit with a 9:11 at the 5 mile mark. By this point I was still leading Reese and glad to be in the final stretch of the race.
Although time was last on the list of goals for the day, I quickly saw that I over estimated the time it would take to run the race...which felt great. I wanted to pick my pace up for the last 1.2 miles to try and hit under the 56 minute mark. I stayed focused and didn't look down once at my watch for the last part. Just focused on running my hardest and finishing hard. Overall I was very happy with my time at 55:51; but with a 9:00 average mile pace, I would like to see my next 10K be in the 8 minute range.
- This year's winner must carry the cup and 6 beers during next year's race
- This year's winner will be in charge of selecting the trophies for next years race
- Next year's race will be an improvement race
Congrats!
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