I ran the iRun for Kassie 10K on Saturday.
It was a cool, cloudy and windy day. It rained most of the day and night before the race. The 10K race goes from paved streets to dirt roads. With everything being wet, I knew the dirt road would be soft and squishy.
Before the race started, they asked for all of the 10K runners to come to the front. It really doesn't matter where everyone lines up. Besides a 10K, a 5K is also run. Both races start at the same time. When the race started, I found myself near the front. Only four other girls and ladies were ahead of me, along with a bunch of guys. The 5K/10K are the same until the 5K turnaround.
I looked at my watch when I reached the mile marker, it read 7:30. I didn't realize how fast I was running. Shortly after that was the 5K turnaround. When the front running ladies reached that point, three of them made the turnaround. That meant only one lady was still running the 10K and was in front of me.
The 10K course goes from city streets to country dirt roads. Country dirt roads have wonderful rolling hills. I thought I ran the hills well. I kept my head down and just looked about 5-10 feet in front of me. I always do that to make sure I don't run in potholes. I always keep my head down on hills because I don't need to know how much farther I have to go before reaching the top of the hill. Once I got over the hill, I increased my pace on the straightaways. Or at least I hope I did.
This course is just an out-an-back, so when I was getting close to the turnaround, the leaders were passing me on the left coming back. Everyone was friendly. We all waved, gave thumbs up and said good job. That is the nice thing about small town races. As the leaders were passing me, I counted that seven people were ahead of me, six males and one female. When I reached the turnaround, I stopped quickly at the unmanned water table to pick up a small cup of water. I started running again after picking up the glass. That is when I saw two other ladies coming towards the turnaround. I didn't realize other runners were that close to me. I kept going to avoid being passed by one or both of the other ladies.
Around mile 4 or 4.5, that is when I heard footsteps getting closer to me. Very soon, one of the ladies behind me was beside me and then quickly in front of me and running away. I wanted to keep close to her, but she was so fast. The gap between us grew so quickly. With that lady passing me, I was still the third woman. I didn't want to be passed again. I decided to keep my pace going to hold off the other woman.
Only two mile markers were put out on the course. When I reached the marker that read 5 miles, my watch read 44:xx. I knew I could finish the race strong. I just kept saying just two more hills then it is all downhill. I got up the hills well and passed some of the 5K walkers near the end. Running from the street to the track, the race time was being displayed on the football scoreboard. When I stepped on the track, the scoreboard read 53:xx. I was happy, but I just wanted to be done. I thought my pace around the track was good and I came into the finishing line strong. I finished the race in 54:46 and was 3rd overall woman, 2nd in my age group and 9th overall.
I thought it was a good race. I wish I was able to keep up with the lady that passed me after the turnaround. There isn't a lot of 10K races in the county, so anytime I can run one, it is fun. Onto the next race.
The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, Jack Olsen 
The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, Jack Olsen 
