Winter Sun 10K 2010

Saturday a group of girlfriends and I headed to Moab to run the Winter Sun 10K.
Lisa, me, Jan, and Anne (missing Ari and my mom who couldn't come, and Christie who came but wasn't there for our picture)

Our sole purpose for running this race was to get the guaranteed entry to the Canyonland Half Marathon in March. If your are the first 100 to register you get a secret code to use in the "bat cave" secret registration website. Ari was hurt and didn't want to show up and, being so competitive, end up running anyway; so we picked up her swag and assumed that we would get her secret code....but they took it away saying if you don't run it you don't get it...that caused us all to wait around for the entire prize give aways in hopes of winning a guaranteed entry for her... but we are all unlucky in the door prize department...

Despite our downtrodden luck, we did not walk away empty handed.... Jan won 3rd place in her age group with a time of 43:50, and her friend Jodie, also won 3rd place in her age division. I of course cheered overly obnoxiously (as promised if she won) and embarrassed Jan pretty good...

This run is billed as an ALL downhill course... and that is mostly true except for one pretty long and pretty steep up hill section. I run serpents all summer long and compared to that this hill was just a speed bump, so I know my struggle was not for lack of physical ability. I mean when you are in down hill mode for 2 plus miles then are hit with this monster it does something to you mentally. I really thought I was going to puke and it was only mile 2... but thankfully I recovered quickly and was able to pick up my pace again. It really felt like the miles were flying by and before I knew it I was running into the high school stadium and around the track to the finish. I ran my personal best 10K time ever,
6.2 miles in 52:55!

That's an average of... 8:30's with my best pace being 5:50 (I am sure that pace was held for all of 2 seconds).

So I couldn't be happier with the results.

Learned:
Through all of the preparation (or lack of) for this run, I had an epiphany... a 10K is not enough motivation to keep me running regularly. I ran sporadically for the weeks prior, and no longer than 4 miles. And I had no anxiety or doubt about my ability to finish the 10K. I remember several years ago when I was training for the BOULDERboulder (10K) and ran 5 times a week, all in an effort to build up to 6 miles. That was the longest distance I could imagine myself running.

This is now my motivational distance...(Thanks Anne for the motivational magnet)

I think that says a lot about my progress as a runner.