1:01.54!!

(Last mile of the TC 10 mile)

What a GREAT day for a race. I did the 10 mile, and finished in a 2:10 personal best of 1:01.54. The best part: I finished and felt like I could have raced harder! Sitting here tonight, my legs feel like they have a lot of energy left in them — I want to go out for another run! That’s always the sign of a great race; a race where I raced smart and was able to finish strong.

My previous personal best was 1:04.03. I was just hoping for a 1:03ish (high), so started in about 6:20 pace. I found a Gustavus teammate (Laura Edlund) early on and began to run with her, along with Chad Giese. Fun! It’s really great to know people you’re racing with. Chad kept with us until mile 4. Laura and I talked most of the race. “You feeling good?” “Yeah — let’s pick it up a little” That sort of talk back and forth. She was the sole reason I was able to pick it up so much the second half of the race. Otherwise, I would have doubted the pace. I felt great, but when we started to pull off a 6:08 6th mile, 6:12 7th mile, 5:58 8th mile… you sort of wonder if you’re going to be able to finish strong. I felt great, but gee… this is quick! This is practically my 5K pace!! We talked about it and decided it was OK. So off we went. Nate took some pictures and it’s funny… we ran stride for stride together! And yes, her legs are about 7 inches longer than mine, we must have looked a little funny 🙂

(Me and Laura, running stride for stride)

Turns out, I was just fine. If anything, I started too slow. My 9th mile was in 5:59, the 10th in 5:37 (!!). We just FLEW by people. Laura dropped off a little bit the last mile (well, might have been that I picked it up by about 20 sec/mile :). My last 5K was in around 18:10, and my last 8K was a 30:10, which is a PR in the 8K for me.

Where did this come from?? 🙂 I hadn’t been feeling great during the week, struggling to get over a cold. That might have been a blessing in disguise, forcing me to take it easier than I otherwise would have.

My hamstring is bothering me a little bit and I felt it twinge and lose a little power about 1/2 way through, but it’s run-able… just get me through these next two weeks, please!! Then I promise I’ll give you a good rest.

CAN’T wait to race in Iowa. There will be really good competition (3 women who have PR’s of mid 2:40s), and it should be a fast and flat course. My recent times show me that I’m really fit — let’s show that in Des Moines!!! 🙂 🙂

Ahvo came to watch!!