You know when you have one of those race days, when everything seems to just flow and the race feels “easy”?? Those are pretty rare for me, but this was one of them! For sure it’s a mix of cool weather, and race day magic!
I went into the MacQueen’s Run for Your Life 10K with no expectations. I have been having some success lately, but I do have my goal half marathon only a week away, so I wasn’t going to do anything crazy and go out and get injured at this stage of the game. Just go for a run.
Before the race, Zach and I worked parking duty. It’s a fun job that just flies by. Started at 7:00am, and before we knew it, the cars were packed in, and it was almost 9:00am race time! The lots we were working filled up pretty fast – like around 8:00am, even though the race registration didn’t start until 7:30am. Here’s a tip – get to this race early!! This year we had 350 in the 10K and another 600 people in the 5K! Holy smokes!
Cars parked all up and down the road, and anywhere else they could find a spot. I enjoyed saying Hi to all of my friends as they drove around.
Right before the race, I took two pieces of RunGum. I haven’t used Run Gum in awhile, but I still had a pack, and they brought me luck before, so why not?? The temperature at the start was 43 with sun. Perfect, I’ve got my Goodr glasses!
The anthem started and I was still in the porta potty. Oops. I also had to squish into the start gates because I certainly missed the line up. The first quarter mile was a little dicey due to the wide range of people running (kids, people in costumes) and walking (hey, why did you line up so close to the front walker??).
First mile clicked off at 8:31. Feeling good, not a bad pace. I was happy with it.
I didn’t check my watch much at all really, only to see my distance. I just went with the flow.
Miles were 8:17, 8:13, 8:14, 8:17, 8:23
This race was honestly going the best it could! I didn’t feel exhausted, I was appropriately dressed (ditched my gloves at mile 2, and my arm warmers at mile 4), the sun was shining, and my iPod was providing motivational tunes! Am I smiling in this picture? I think so!
My pace did dip a little in the last mile, but when I saw the finish clock was still in the 51:xx range, so I sprinted it in, 7:53 pace, and got 51:21. Woot!! A PR! haha, not the best picture of me, but at least it looks like I’m running here….
I got 2nd place out of 17 in my age group. 2nd place award was a big pumpkin. Look at this beauty!
They also had medals this year. Very cool!
This race also had a 5K and a kids fun run. There were lots of people in costumes, but I didn’t get any pictures of them! Zach and I zipped off right after the race so we could go to Cedar Point for Halloweeekends 🙂
Despite this not being a huge PR for me (maybe 15 seconds?), I was super happy to have a comfortable race with a very good pace. Always a huge confidence boost! Just to keep it real though, the lady who got first in my age group ran 7:36 avg pace, compared to my 8:16 pace. WOW!!!
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Q: How many pumpkins do you have in your front yard?
5!
Q: Have you ever tried RunGum?
I need to buy some more. It’s a really good idea for people who get sick of eating GU and want an energy boost. Really, who doesn’t get sick of eating GU?? haha
This is awesome! Good job, Lisa!! A PR is a PR, whether it’s 15 min or 15 seconds. And honestly, in a 10k, 15 seconds isn’t anything to sneeze at. I admire you and your family for volunteering at races. I never do that. I have never had run gum before but Kristina did a vlog about it back in the day. I have ZERO pumpkins in my front lawn but in a month I will have like 10 blow ups!!! 🙂 Congrats again on a great race. 🙂
Megan @ Meg Go Run recently posted…Friday 5!
Thanks!! Zach did need to get service hours for school, and I happened to be running, so the volunteering gig worked out well! Except he wasn’t thrilled about getting up so early 🙂