Race Recap: Bels Race For Your Heart 10K

On Saturday, I woke up ready for a rest day... but rest, I did not.  Instead, I gradually pulled myself out of bed and made my way to the small community of Washington, IL. Bels Second Chance - Race For Your Heart was a local race, but still a 20 minute drive for me. The 9:00am start was later than normal, but it fit my mood perfectly that day.

I had registered for this 10K race for two reasons... 1) We never get local 10k races around here and I love the distance.  2) I wanted to support the cause of a young local girl who had gone through numerous heart transplant surgeries. Read the full story here. Having two little girls of my own, the story touched me.

Initially, the 6.2 mile distance was planned to be the end of a 20-miler that day. Due to bad planning and overworked legs, I decided to forego the long run and just be happy with a 10k race. I arrived about 20 minutes before the start, met up with some of my Sole Sisters and then strolled to the start. I just love the ease of small local races.

Dang, I'm short...

The weather was deceiving. It was warm temps, but the fierce wind made it chilly. I should know better, but I left my jacket on. As we lined up, I made a last minute decision to pin my bib on my capris. A quarter mile into the race, I was already tying my jacket around my waist. Duh.

It felt difficult to get going in the beginning. I can't even express how tired my legs felt from the triple-workout I did the day before. Somehow, I kept the first three miles at a respectable clip and quite consistent: 9:15, 9:14, 9:20.

The course exited the tight city neighborhoods and we ventured out onto country roads. It was wide open fields, so when we turned at mile 3, the wind nearly knocked me over. It was a battle to keep moving forward, especially with the nice rollers in the backhalf. By now, runners were pretty spread out. I felt practically alone, so I kept my eyes focused on a couple ahead... just follow them. Keep them in sight. My legs hurt and my pace slowed. Honestly, I just wanted to be done. By mile 5, I was so freakin' happy to have given up on the notion of a "long run" today.  So rarely is my last mile my slowest... 9:42, 9:26, 9:46.

Photos courtesy of race management

There was a nice little social gathering inside - food spread, live band and results. I was curious about my official time since I once again forgot to stop the watch.

I love races that have instant results onsite!

A 58:33 is a solid run for me, however, my 10k PR is over 4 minutes faster than that.  Rarely, like never, do I place in races, so I had to stick around to claim my 2nd place age group award! Yeah baby! I love when the competition doesn't show up... hee, hee.