Unfortunately he changed his mind due to someone saying something to him about his pace. I kept trying to talk him into doing it because he was so excited in the beginning. I waited till the last day to register to be guaranteed a shirt and he still didn't want to do it. So I registered for the 10k and made him promise me that him and his sister would run across the finish line with me. This is one of the best things about local races.
As race day approached, I will admit that I was a little nervous. Which isn't uncommon for me but I think that it had more to do with my goal. Before every race, I always set a goal finish time. For this particular race, I wanted to finish it in less than an hour. This has been a goal of mine for a 10k for almost four years. Mainly because when I first started running it took me an hour to run five miles. While there is nothing wrong with that, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. That I could work hard and cross that finish line in under an hour.
Race day was finally here and I was ready to go pick up my bib number to head to the start line. I had my husband with me camera in hand and my kids following a little bit behind us. Questioning everything that we did.
For this particular race, I chose to run without music for two reasons. One it was raining and I didn't want my phone to get wet since that is what I use for music and I have just gotten use to running without it. Two I just wanted to enjoy the run. Not worry about what song was on. Just simply enjoy myself.
I approached the start line and listened to the pre-race instructions. Then we were off. I will admit that I took off entirely too fast. My pace for at least a tenth of a mile or more was between 7:30-8:30 minute mile. A pace that I am not use to running for that long of a distance. It took a little bit but I was finally able to get my pace steady. When I came to the first water stop, I stayed there a little longer than I should have which added a little bit of time to my overall pace.
For a little bit, I ended up running next to a teenage girl that I would learn after the race to be 13. She is an amazing runner. A friend of hers told her that she was the second female overall for the 10k so she gave me one quick look and took off. After that, she was at least a minute maybe a little less ahead of me. By the time I came around to the water stop again, I didn't have to stop because I wouldn't have met my goal and I was so very close. My legs were starting to hurt and I remembered the quote below.
I set out to run a 10k in under an hour and I wasn't finished yet. So I kept on and before I knew it I had the finish line in sight. That same girl was still ahead of me and beat me by 50 seconds or so. That is ok but I soon realized that I was going to finally meet my goal. Plus my kids were going to run and meet me.
The picture above was right after the kids ran up to me. Yes I could have sprinted to that finish line and shaved a few more seconds. Although that idea is nice, this is what it is all about. Making memories and what is better than making memories with your kids.
This picture right here is one of my favorites. You can see the smile on my son's face but I hate that you can't see my daughter's face. To make sure that we got the timing right, I had a small "window" to run through and it blocked her. :( Considering the way that my son is smiling I will take it.
My official time was 59:34!! Every other 10k was over an hour so I got to PR and run across that finish line with the kids. Can't get much better than that. What is one of your favorite races and why?
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