Charlotte Racefest 10k

Goal:
10k in 5:50 pace

Actual:
3 mile warmup
10k in 36:14 (541, 557, 607, 545, 543, 543, 1:15) for 1st place female, and 4th overall
2.2 miles cool down for 11.4 total miles
$200 check

In 2009 at the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon, I ran a 1:23:50 for third place overall.  That was not a fun race for me.  This year, even though I opted for the shorter, more forgiving distance of a 10k, my goal was to race better than I had in 2009.  Fortunately, Greg Shore and John Fillette decided to also toe the line today, providing me with some people to run against.  After a nice warmup with John, Anna, and Aaron, we all meandered over the to start line, where I did my classic warmup "hip thrusts" while Aaron squatted in a position eerily similar to one you would do behind a tree in the woods.

we freaked Kati Robertson out enough that she took a pic

After a couple of hoots and hollers from Aaron, the race director set us on our way.  As expected, John, Aaron and Paul shot to the front of the pack and I settled in comfortably far behind them.  John Fillette dashed ahead, and I made a mental note of catching him later on.  Greg Shore tucked himself right behind my left shoulder and drafted off of me. I  was fine with that because it gave me that extra motivation to keep the pace on my targeted speed:  5:50 pace.  Greg and I came through the downhill mile in 5:41.  John Fillette was maybe 20 meters ahead. I struggled through the second and third mile...especially the third mile...and then woke up again when I saw that the fourth mile was downhill again.  John Fillette wasn't too far ahead anymore, so I picked up the pace to at least catch up to him.  By the fourth mile mark, I was leading the small pack of John, Greg, and myself.  At 4.5 miles, we passed Chris Cummins and company, who yelled at me to "break those guys."  Like true gentlemen, they didn't even acknowledge John or Greg, and provided me with the fuel I needed to conquer the remaining hills on this unforgiving course.  John Fillette dropped back almost as quickly as the words came out of Chris' mouth.  Afterwards, John admitted that those words may or may not have lead to his slower pace.

Unfortunately, I hadn't dropped Greg quite yet. I realized that he was typically stronger than me on the uphill, but that I was stronger on the downhill.  So, at the last downhill before the long Barclay Downs hill, I surged ahead, and used that momentum to keep my speed going up the hill.  Somewhere along that dreadful hill, I managed to put a couple of meters between the two of us...a sizable enough gap that he wasn't able to close.  Somehow I managed to come through the finish line just under 36:15, which was right on my target pace. Greg was just a few seconds behind, and we high-fived.  He also apologized for drafting off of me the entire race, which I didn't really mind.  There wasn't any wind, after all.  Everyone had a good race.  Paul won, Aaron got second with a huge PR, and Greg's friend came away with some prize money.

All in all, I accomplished my goals for this race.  Most importantly, I walked away with $200, which will immediately go towards my moving expenses that will be incurred in just one month's time.