Spectrum 10K Race Report

I ran the Spectrum 10K on Saturday. It is one of the Runner Series races for the St. George Marathon. One race down, one to go. It was my third 10K. Here are my times:

Smile Center Memorial Day 10K May 23, 2009 1:00:07.28 (9:42)
Freedom Festival Freedom Run 10K July 4, 2009 57:48 (9:19)
Spectrum 10K March 20, 2010 54:51 (8:50)

PR!! 2:57 faster!

I drove down the night before the race with my girls and my mom. I slept okay considering I was in a hotel bed and had a little girl glued to my side all night. In the morning, I dropped my girls off at the hotel where my dad (he drove up from Arizona and met us the night before) and mom were staying and headed to the race. It was a little colder than I expected until the sun came up over the mountain to warm things up just before the race started. The first couple of miles had some little rolling hills, but it was downhill overall. And thanks to all who prayed to the weather gods for no wind. It was a perfectly calm day.

The first half of the race was on a pretty little trail through Snow Canyon State Park and the rest was on quiet neighborhood streets. I kept my pace pretty steady. I knew I had to keep it below 9:19 to PR and was surprised to see it below 9:00 so often.

On the bus to the start, I sat by a guy that ran the race last year. He warned me about a hill at mile 5, so I was prepared mentally and physically as I hit it. It is times like that when I know how much running REALLY is mental! As I approached the finish, I was a little distracted looking for my family and didn't notice a clock anywhere. I still don't know if there was one. When I stopped the G-man, it said 55:00 exactly. PR! And when they posted the official results, an even better PR!

My mom and littlest midge met me at the finish while my dad was entertaining my other midge and her cousin at the playground. This was my first race with spectators other than my hubby and girls; it was fun to have my parents there. My mom was even nice enough to take some pictures while holding my little one.

My PR smile

After this race, I felt better than I have after any other race. My runner's gut stayed in check other than about five minutes of rumbling. My legs felt good and were only a little sore the following day. Thank you speedwork (and Imodium).

My parents headed back to Arizona and I headed home with my girls after the race.

I had originally planned to go to Arizona for a few weeks but felt a little overwhelmed with all I need to get done at home (catch-up after the trip to Hawaii, a big work project, and our taxes). And we will see my parents again since they will be back up here in less than two weeks, so I decided to postpone my trip.