The 10 mile run

The 10 mile run for the TC Marathon weekend went, overall, pretty well. The TC Marathon weekend has pretty much a run for everyone: 1 mile, 5K, 10K, 10 mile, plus the big marathon, and then many kid and family events. In the past I had taken the kids to compete in the kids events and they always had a great time. Two years ago, I ran the 10K and knew I had more in me. After the 10 mile run, I figured, you know what? I am good with 10 miles :-)

The run was from the Metrodome in Minneapolis to the Capital in St. Paul. The course was pretty hilly, but along the route were some really pretty scenic views of the cities. We ran down the Mississippi River Road, Summit Avenue, along the Cathedral, and down John Ireland Boulevard to the Capital.

My friend Megan and I ran it together and met in the wee hours of the morning at 5:30am to make the transfer buses that left from the Finish line and took us to the start at the Metrodome. The run started at 7:10, so we were there in plenty of time. However, with the 8500 runners they had participating in the 10 mile, it was good to get to the metrodome early.

The run went pretty well overall. Around mile 7 my knees and hips were getting pretty sore and that is when I was really ready to be done. I pushed through and still ran the rest of the way (albeit probably a bit slower) and was able to finish strong in my mind.

I was a little disappointed in my finish time. Yes, I realize that I shouldn't be disappointed. But, when training for it, I was running roughly 9:10 - 9:20 minute miles. I finished at 9:58 per mile on average. I am still happy that I did it and feel good that I did it. Hopefully next year, I will go faster. The course was a little hilly and I wasn't running with my strong-beat music, so maybe that can account for some of it, who knows. Anyway - still, a good accomplishment and something to feel proud about.

Here are a few pics of the event:

I think I am looking pretty wiped here! This is towards the finish.. . . probably mile 9.75

And... THE FINISH!!! The clock that you see is the gun time. My chip time was 1:39:33. I did it in one hour, 39 minutes, and 33 second. Average pace was 9:58/mile and per my age, I finished at 50%. Not bad.

Here is after eating our snacks, stretching, getting our medals and wearing our ugly, ugly finisher shirts! I kept thinking to myself "I just ran 10 miles and all I get is this ugly shirt?"

I do think that I will do this again. It is a great way to stay motivated and in shape. Maybe I will do a half marathon, but I wouldn't try to push myself as hard to keep running if I do a half. My knees and hips were pretty sore and by the end of that day, I wasn't walking all that well; my body was pretty stiff and sore. But the weird thing? I do one of these events and my competitive nature kicks in and I think "I can do better. I can push myself more." But, I know that my body may not take it. Or, I will switch back to triathlons. Time will tell.

Thanks for all the well-wishes the weekend of the run! They meant a lot. Maybe next year some family or friends will want to do this as a team! Think about it!