Spring Fling 10K

First 10K of 2013! WOO!

Emily and I picked the Spring Fling 5K/10K because it happened to fall on the morning of my 26th birthday...what a great way to kick off a fresh year! The race ended up being an out and back because of a late season snowstorm that we had last week - so we had to stick the the roads instead of the nature path that they had intended to incorporate.

Emily, my parents and I all met up at 8:00 and headed down to the race together. The race started at an Athletic Club so we stayed in the fieldhouse until the start because temperatures were hovering slightly below 30°F. They ushered us outside about 5 minutes before 9:00 and we had to jump around a bit to stay warm...but then we were off! 

The 10K started at the same time as the 5K, which made for a very congested first 1.5 miles before the 5Kers turned around. The road wasn't closed so we had to run and pass carefully so as not to get run over by passing cars. After the 5Kers branched off things were much less congested. Emily and I stayed together until about half way through (where there was a water stop...yay for a little sip of H20!) but then her distance ahead of me kept increasing, which was fine! There were 2 steep hills right in a row on the way back to the finish line that took it out of me more than I would have liked, but the last 2 miles were smooth sailing.

I had my heart rate monitor on so I glanced at it with about a mile left - I was definitely going to PR! My first (and only other) 10K was on a lot less training so I was expecting to do better, but I was going to do MUCH better! This lit my legs back up and I settled into a quicker stride. As soon as I spotted my parents I knew I was close! They cheered me on and I took the last meter as quickly as I could manage. I crossed the finish line with an official time of 1:07:46, a PR by 8 minutes! YEAH!

I liked this race. It was a good way to kick off the spring and my 26th year on the earth. I'd definitely do it again.