Race Recapping: 10Ks in 2014

I like 5Ks races. They are short, sweet and you can get your 30 minutes (plus or minus a few minutes) of exercising done on a Saturday morning, usually before 8am. But I am a fan of the longer distance racing, because for me and my body it takes at least 30 minutes to really get warmed up. By the time I hit the 30 minute mark, my body has figured out the pace to run and breathe at....and the race is over.  So in 2014 I signed up for some longer distance races as well, to keep me motivated in running and to not give up after my first half-marathon.

I started my 10K races with the Love your Heart 10K in February. I ran the 5k in 2013, so this year I wanted to challenge myself to the longer race.  The weather is 2013 was freezing cold, I think I wore every piece of running gear I owned at the time and I was still cold! 2014 proved to be a drastically different year.  There was a freak heat wave in February, and I ran the race in capris and a long sleeve t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Finishing time: 1:10:02, which took 3 minutes off my previous 10K time. Yeah!!! A new PR!

What a great motivator these runners were, helping us the last 200 yards!

The next month was the St. Patrick's Day Kegs & Eggs, run the day before St. Patrick's Day (which fell on a Monday). Winter in Nashville is not too bad, so the cold was only minimal, but add a drizzle to it, and it makes for a pretty chilly day.  The race was either a 5K or 10K, so the longer distance runners had to run the same route twice.  The only problem was there was a pretty big hill at the beginning, but I attacked it so well, that once again I had a new PR--1:05:50!! I had taken a total of 8 minutes off my worst time over the course of 6 months! I was feeling pretty good about the rest of my upcoming races!


My husband, the Army Officer, ran in high school and later on the college cross country team.  So he is a great role model for me and my running habit. But he is not much of a "racer" so I was really excited to get him to join me for a the Beyond the Battlefield 10K. In fact, he received 2nd place in his age group! How awesome is that?!?? But enough about him, this blog is about me. :)  It was hot (when is it not, in Nashville in May?), and I still finished a respectable 1:06:11. No new PR, but under 1:10, so I'll take it.

My last 10K for 2014 was in August, and it was one of the worst races to take.  It was hot, humid, and the race course had very little water.  I can understand that on a typical day, but this was 72-degrees and 88% humidity at 7am.  Glad I had my own water, but more is always better. Because of that, I ran a pretty bad time: 1:12:23. My worst 10K of the year. And it was done, over with, I can learn from it about what I need to do better, and move on to the next race.