Kelly Carter Scholarship 10K

Going into the 10K, I wasn't sure how I wanted to run it. I didn't know if I wanted to go for a PR or just have fun.

I went out fast. My first mile was 7:59. I really didn't think I was going that fast, but I'm glad I did. Two ladies passed me during the second mile. No one passed me after that. A guy that I passed in the first mile was hanging on my shoulder through mile 2. I finally shook him for good when I picked up my pace and surged up a rolling hill. I think all of the hill intervals I've been doing is starting to pay off.

From mile 2 until the end, I tried so hard to catch one of the ladies that passed me. I couldn't do it. There were times during the 10K that I would gain some ground on her. She kept looking back to see where I was. When she saw I was closer, she found another gear. She probably finished about 30 seconds in front of me. I was disappointed that I didn't catch her, but she motivated me to run faster. When I was trying to catch her, I could tell my leg turnover was pretty quick. I was trying to hold that pace for as long as I could. I think I did a good job.

When the volunteer called out 34 minutes at the four mile mark, I decided to go for a PR. To reach a PR, I picked up my pace for the last two miles. Still trying to hunt down the lady in front of me. When I made the final turn heading to the finish line, I saw 52 minutes on the clock. I tried as hard as I could to get under 53 minutes. I came up just a little short.

I finished the 10K in 53:06:22 and lowered my PR by 24 seconds. I also placed 3rd in my age group. The guy giving out medals said our age group was the largest. When I was running, I thought the first lady that passed me was in my age group. I thought I had finished fourth. I was thrilled when she received her medal in another age group. I was glad that I brought home some hardware from this 10K. A PR is fantastic, but it just makes it sweeter when placing in the top three of your age group too.