Super Dale 10K

I now know what it feels like to not hit a goal that you set for a race. Maybe it's because I'm getting to the point that it's going to be very difficult to shave those seconds off? Either way, it was a first for me and I had to not let it get me down while I was on the road.

The wind was awful. So you know I'm not exaggerating, there were broken trees at the high school where the start was because of the wind. I was excited, but I told my friends walking in that for some reason I just wasn't feeling very fast today. I was also fighting a stomach ache (Note to self: A gigantic dinner of delicious crepes and sausage links is NOT a good idea the night before a race!) so I was nervous about that.

We started, and within the first two tenths of a mile I knew that I wasn't going to hit my time goal- the wind was so strong that it felt like someone was pushing me backwards. I'm not every strong, or very big, so I was literally getting blown all over the road. The only plus about it was that the other runners were fighting against the same obstacle.

The first 3 miles were the hardest, then we turned and I was able to sail along with a tail wind or a side wind for a couple of miles, and then the last mile was absolutely killer. I knew when I looked down after running for 4 miles and saw that my average was 8:11/mile that I just had to forget about the time and focus on the fact that there were only 3 men in front of me.

I kept steady and pushed through! I was passed by 2 guys at a half mile to go- I just didn't have the strength to push through the wind like they could. I sprinted at the end to try to beat one of them, but I just didn't catch him. However, I was able to achieve my first goal of placing 1st overall in women! There were only 5 men that finished in front of me- I was very excited about that. I finished the race in 50:03.88 (my Garmin said I ran 6.35 miles) and my average pace was 7:53/mile. I was so glad I could finish with an average under 8!

I've been home for a couple of hours now, and I feel completely wiped out- like I ran a half marathon instead of a 10K. It was tough! At least I can say I have a first place under my belt.

Me, Sariah, and Darcy taking shelter in the car after the race. It was so bad people didn't even stick around at the finish- they just bailed. Do we look windblown?