Race Report: Pikes Peek 10K

Today was a big day: the first race of the season. Just a local 10K (with about 2550 people), but a good way to see where I am right now. Coach Mike was awesome with the pre-race plan, and I swear I heard in him my head for the entire race (Thanks!).

Pre-race: No night before the race "I forgot my timing chip/race number/shoes (insert essential item here)" dream...I usually have one of these. It was a little cool with a chance of rain when I got up. Half of a First Endurance EFS bar (I love these things!), and a banana, breakfast on the table for the kids, and then out the door. Of course the rain came before the race, but it was bearable. I was lucky enough to meet up with Tommy's coworkers Sarah and Erin before the race. While waiting for the start, a guy asked about my bright green Saucony Fastwitch 4s. It was so much fun getting to wear my green Trakkers gear and new race shoes (they helped a lot with the mental part of things).

Race Goals:
- Sub-9 minute mile average
- Deal with the SI pain and hope it didn't get too bad
- Negative split (save something for the end)
- Try to stay in the top third of my age group/overall women. This seems to be where I fall out in most races.

Race: The race is relatively flat, with a couple of downhills and uphills before and after the 5K point. I was with two hilarious guys for the first two miles or so (a dog barks at the start, one of them says "What's that Lassie? We're in over our heads?).
Mile 1: 8:18 (Faster than I expected- Low zone 4 HR...made myself slow down a notch)
Mile 2: 8:26 (I knew this one would be slower)
5K: 26 minutes (this is where I realized I could get a 10K in 52 minutes...I had been shooting for 54 minutes or less)
Mile 5-6: 8:03 pace
I wasn't sure how much I had in the tank, but I held back and really pushed it from mile 5 to the finish. I heard my kids cheering at the end and sprinted past a few people. I was so pumped to smash my goal (51:40).

Age Group Place: 38/196
Overall Females: 213/1244

Post-Race: The morning wasn't done. My 7 year old daughter was running the 1K. It was her first race, and I have been trying to teach her about pacing herself but she still went out fast. The road was slippery, and she fell on the way out. I tripped over her but didn't fall on her (thank goodness). She got right back up and kept going. She started to run out of steam at the halfway point, but picked it up and sprinted to the end. I was so proud of her for toughing it out! It was so much fun to see her in her first race (though my legs were not so enthusiastic about a run over 45 minutes after finishing my race).