Souper Run 10K

I never thought I would have run this 10K Sunday. My husband and I were out of town and I expected to drive home Sunday morning. Our plans changed Saturday night. We hit the road around 11:30 p.m. We made it home finally after the time change.

I decided on the drive home that I would run in the Souper Run Sunday morning. I didn't care how tired I was, I was going to do it. After only four hours of sleep, I put on my running clothes, hit the ATM and registered for the race.

The race time temperature was very cold, hovering in the 30s. Only the windy conditions made it worse. When the race started, I thought my pace was very slow. I only realized it wasn't after I passed mile one and the time was called out. My time was 8:30 or something like that. I was surprised.

My goal for the race was to set a brand new personal record. My goal during the race was to catch and pass a woman about 100 meters ahead of me. I noticed her around the second or third mile. I passed three miles in 24 minutes, passed four miles in 33 minutes. During the third and fourth mile, the distance between the woman ahead of me was shrinking.

The last 1.5 miles were the worst of the race. The course took us up a slight incline and straight into a strong headwind. It was awful. I continued and kept gaining on the woman ahead of me. I passed the fifth mile in 42 or 43 minutes. After I passed the mile marker, I decided to pick up the pace. I don't know if I really picked it up or not. The wind made it so difficult. I continued getting closer to the woman in front of me.

I was so happy when with about a .10 of a mile to go, I passed the woman I was chasing for most of the race. Just to make sure she didn't try to pass me back, I started to sprint toward the finish. I was thrilled with my time and my race. I ran a great race on less then four hours of sleep. I finished the 10K in 53:33:61. I beat my 10K PR by 6:26. Besides having a great time, I finished third in my age division and brought home another medal.

My 2010 racing schedule will end on November 21. I can't believe how much I achieved this year. I dropped all of my PR's in the 5K, 10K and half marathon. I hope to continue that success in 2011 also.