Yesterday I ran in a local race- the Stride To Prevent Suicide 10K.  I have run in this 5K twice before but this was the first time the 10K was offered so I decided to go for it.  I didn’t have very high expectations for my time since this was just 12 days since Boston and I have only put in a few easy miles this week- none of which felt that “easy”.

I knew I was not in 10K PR mode physically or mentally.  According to McMillan’s pace calculator, based on my other races I “should” be able to run a 38- something 10K right now but I knew this wasn’t going to be a realistic time/ pace goal yesterday.  My legs had felt tired all week and this course was a lot more challenging than Capital City Classic.  My main goal was to keep it under 40 minutes.

The morning of the race it was raining hard but fortunately had stopped about an hour before the race.  I headed over to the race with Abi (who was also planning on running).  John was going to meet us there with the younger three later.  Abi decided a few days ago that she wanted to run the 10K this year as well.  She has never run a 10K before but when we were at Capital City a few weeks ago she saw another 8 year-old finish the 10K in 1:19 I’m pretty sure Abi wanted to know if she could beat that time.  Yes, she’s 100% my daughter! So Abi planned to run with Sarah.  Sarah is our “adopted” college girl who has run in many races with our family and is always willing to pace Abi or Rocky.  What will we do when she graduates in a few weeks?!!

I warmed up about two miles and was ready to go.  Then the race started about 25 minutes late. Finally it was time to start.

Mile 1- 6:22. This was a little slower than I would normally want to start a 10K but I couldn’t get in the zone.  I was immediately in 2nd place overall following a high school kid. 

Mile 2- 6:15. Better.  I knew this mile would probably be my fastest since much of it is downhill.  (It seemed like every other mile had more uphill than down.) I passed the lead runner towards the beginning of this mile.  Time to focus and maintain my pace.

Mile 3- 6:22.  This mile and the next one were the bigger uphill miles.  I knew my pace was slower than it was at Capital City but I just kept telling myself to stick the the overall goal (sub 40) and keep my 5K under 20 minutes. 

Mile 4- 6:27.  Too slow!

Mile 5- 6:21.  Better.

Mile 6- 6:31.  Ughhh. Really off on this one.  My legs were tired and I was ready to be done!

Kicking it in the last .2

Mile 6.24- 1:24 (5:50 pace). When I saw my watch beep that 6:31 for mile six I kicked myself into gear.  I knew if I didn’t pick it up I wasn’t going to go sub 40.  Suddenly I found myself sprinting at a sub 6 pace.

Finish time: 39:48 (6:22 avg.) Garmin.  (1st overall)

Official results can be found here.  At first, there was some major race result confusion because runners who had registered for the 5K switched to 1 mile and some switched from 10K to 5K.  I think they got most of it sorted out at the end.

As soon as I finished I got some water and then turned around and started jogging back to find Abi and Sarah.  They were a lot further along than I had anticipated! When I met up with them they were on mile 5.  Abi was doing good and staying focused.  They had made one wrong turn which resulted in some extra distance but they were still doing great.  Apparently a race volunteer thought they were running the 5K so she told them to turn towards the 5k finish but Sarah soon realized this was not the right way for the 10K so they turned around and headed back. 

Once Sarah’s watch beeped at mile 6 it was go time! Abi started her kick.  She crossed the line in 1:02:47.

Sarah & Abi’s Splits

Proud of these girls!

Is a 10K too much for an 8 year old?  This was something Abi really wanted to do.  She knows she has a long time to grow up and John and I NEVER want her to feel like she HAS to run.  She runs a handful of local races a year and we try to keep them simple and fun.  No pressure.  No expectations. 

After the race there was a free child’s fun run as well as the 2nd Annual Butterfly Release.  This was pretty cool!  There were 100 (?) butterflies that were released into the air. 

My favorite butterfly pic of all!

We are sure going to miss Sarah!!

So proud of my little 10K runner!

All in all great morning and I’m glad we were able to participate in this as a family.  Next weekend I have another little 10K but this one I will be doing solo.  Hopefully I will feel a little more recovered and ready to focus!

The Stride To Prevent Suicide raises money for the Dr. Robert E. Elliott Foundation which promotes mental health and provides counseling for those suffering from depression.