Hospice of Lenawee 10K

Before the race started, I wasn't sure how I was going to run it. I had a very long day Saturday with my sister's wedding and I couldn't stop yawning. I thought anything under an hour would be good.

When the race started, I was tailing another lady. We had about the same pace going. I decided to stick with her. I ran through mile 1 at 8:38, mile 2 at 16:30 and mile 3 at 25:20 something.

When I heard the race volunteer at mile 3 call that time out, I decided then I would try to get a PR. The woman who I was sticking with was just a little ways ahead of me. After hitting the third mile, I started to chase her down and another lady as well.

I finally caught up with them and ran with them until 3.5 miles. We were all bunched up pretty tight. My pace was starting to slow down because I was stuck behind them. We were running on a sidewalk. For the 10K, we usually run on the road. With road construction taking out two lanes, we were told to stay on the sidewalk. I just waited until I had more room to run around them. Up ahead was a gas station and we had to run through the parking lot to get back onto the sidewalk We we reached the parking lot, I made my move and passed them.

I the runners I just passed were sticking with me because I heard what sounded like footsteps behind me. I didn't want to turn around and look because that wastes energy. I kept running hard to put distance in between us.

Nearing the finish line, I started to pick up my pace. I was running as fast as I could. I sprinted to the finish line and looked down at my watch. It read 53;30:91. I was 99% certain that was a new PR for me. I was getting some water after the race and the lady I followed for the first 3.5 miles came up to me. She said that once we reached the parking lot and I passed her and the other lady, that I took off. She said she tried to stay with me, but she couldn't. So the noise that I heard thinking were footsteps was my key in my pocket making noise. I'm glad I thought it was footsteps. It really helped me keep up my pace and run hard during the second half of the race.

Besides a new PR, I was also first in my age group. I think in the 8 years I've been running races that was only the second time I was first in my age group. It is a really good feeling to see how far I've come as a runner. The days of being the last runner on the course is long gone.


Photo Credit: Lad Strayer