I guess it’s about time I get around to writing my Toad Suck 10k race recap! This race is 8th in the Arkansas Grand Prix series (and my 5th) for the year. The next one is this Saturday so I better get moving!
Race: Toad Suck 10k
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015
Location: Conway, Arkansas
This was my fifth year to participate in the Toad Suck Daze race series. The first two times I ran the 5k and then I decided to start competing with the Arkansas Grand Prix. (Only the 10k counts towards GP points.)
Conway is about an hour from my house and we left a little after 6 am. Abi was running this race too so I picked up our packets and then met up with Natalie and Jackie who were also racing. My only big complaint with this race was the lack of bathroom/ port-a-potty facilities. We were in the bathroom line for what seemed like forever (compared to other race bathroom lines). Fortunately, Jackie held our place in line for some of it so Natalie and I could warm up. Jackie was racing in the 5k which started 15 minutes after our race. Natalie and I made it to the starting line with just a few minutes to spare!
The Race
The 10k course is very flat but there are several turns. Last year I was able to maintain a 6:06 pace. My goal for this race was to keep it in the 6:05-6:10 range. Typically in a 10k mile 4 is my hardest so I really focused on making that one a good mile which really helped. But then I crashed a little on the last two miles… I guess I’ll figure this out eventually! Overall I was pretty happy with how everything went. From the beginning I was third female and that never changed. Splits: 6:03, 6:11, 6:12, 6:08, 6:19, 6:19, 1:30 (5:44 avg) for last .26. Watch average was: 6:11. (Official was 6:15.)
This is one of my favorite racing pictures now because it has John and my son in the background cheering me on!
Track finishes are the BEST!
Official Time- 38:44 (3rd female OA). Official Results can be found here.
As soon as I finished I turned around to find Abi. She was doing great and cruising right along. She finished in 50:18 (8:07 avg) and set a new PR by over 2 minutes.
Abi finishing strong!
A few of the ladies from Searcy Rush
My friend Jackie won the 5K (her first overall win) and my friend Kem won the Master’s 10k division. Abi won her AG and we picked up a few awards for friends who had to leave early so we had a little hardware collection going on!
1st in her AG!
Jackie won overall female in the 5k!
3rd place OA in 10k
I love their faces in this! A few friends had to leave so we were the designated award collectors for our local running club!
Final Thoughts
I really would like to break 38 minutes in the 10k at some point! I know I’m going to need to get my time down below 6:05 per mile to make that happen and it’s just going to take a little more time and confidence. I don’t have another 10k until November so I’ve got the time! This weekend is the Easter Seals 8k in Little Rock. I’ve never run an 8k before but hopefully I can run a similar pace to this 10k. It’s really starting to heat up around here so I’m looking forward to racing shorter distances! I just registered today for Go! Mile which is 3 weeks from Saturday!
A Few More Race Pictures
The whole family
So proud of this girl!
We’re going to miss racing with Jackie!
12 Comments
Congratulations on your award and what an awesome time :). I love how you were an awards collector and had so many of them with people having to leave early (that’s one drawback of longer distances like 10K and up, sometimes it takes a while for them to have the awards ceremony because they have to wait until all have finished and they can calculate results). And congrats to Jackie on the OA win and Abi on her award too :).
I love your husband’s 0.0 shirt, hahaha. I noticed it in the pic. This looks like it was a really fun race.
Amy Lauren recently posted…Training for Summertime 5Ks (May 18-24)
Thanks Amy! He actually had several people at the race come up to him and say that was their favorite running shirt they’ve seen! Lol!
You’re getting so close to breaking that 38 minute mark. It’ll come. As you say, confidence is the key. Believing in yourself even though you’re hurting can get you to your goal.
Char recently posted…Noosa Half Marathon
Thanks Char! Confidence and follow through is so important. I do much better when I run with confidence.
You guys with all your awards – cute!
Gracie recently posted…Greek-festing
The kids were getting a bit bored while we waited on awards so at least we got some fun pics, right!
Tia recently posted…Toad Suck 10K Race Report- Getting Back to Business!
Do you coach children? (13years) My daughter attends a small school with a nonexistent XC program but she loves to run. I’m am looking for someone to coach her or at the very least make sure she’s not going to injury herself.
I am currently only coaching 18 and older but I’d be happy to email you some thoughts/ suggestions. My email address is: arkansasrunnermom@gmail.com
Just let me know if you would like me to email you. Thanks for your comment!
Tia recently posted…Toad Suck 10K Race Report- Getting Back to Business!
Another great race, Tia! It was so nice to see you all there and it was such a pleasant day; I can’t remember the last time I ran at Toad Suck without it raining. Hope you have a great race at the Rock Run 8K; I’ll keep an eye out for you!
Tara @ Running ‘N’ Reading recently posted…Things You Won’t Say by Sarah Pekkanen
Weather in May can be so unpredictable. I was wishing the 8k had been more like this 10k that’s for sure!!
Tia recently posted…Toad Suck 10K Race Report- Getting Back to Business!