Since my last destination race in Indiana in April, I finished graduate school and am now the proud owner of shiny new Masters Degree. Running wise, I have altered my form and have (mostly successfully) stopped being a chronic heal striker and am now a mid-to forefront striker. The one lingering problem is I'm still having IT band problems mixed with PFPS which has been plaguing me for awhile. I'm working through that, but its taking time.
The race:
I ran a 10k in a small Nebraskan town not far from Omaha. Nebraska was not my real destination; I stopped here on my way to Denver. Stayed the night in Omaha, raced the next morning, and then continued on my way. A note of advice: racing and then getting into a car for the next 8 hours is never a good idea.
This race was never going to be a PR. I've been battling the aforementioned knee problems which ended plans to run a half marathon at the beginning of June that I trained for since mid-January. This race morphed into getting 6.2 miles in since I haven't run a "long run" since mid-May, having fun, and seeing a new place in the best way possible: running!
Despite being advertised as a flat 10K, it was NOT. For me, flat literally means a pancake. Rolling hills is not flat! The race started and ended in a minor league baseball stadium. That was the only flat part of the course. Mile 1, once we left the stadium, was a small downhill which turned a corner to a giant, lengthy uphill. We then went back down hill, hit an aid station, and ran up 2 more smaller inclines. That was a 5k, so we did the whole loop all over again. I went out strong, hitting mile 1 in 8 minutes flat, ran the hilly 2nd and 3rd miles in around 8:30, and then my right knee crapped out on me. I finished in 57:19, a long way off from my 10K PR, cursing my knee, and a bit frustrated. Even though I knew this wasn't really going to be a "race," I guess I held out hope that I would kill the hills and run close to my PR (which was in San Diego on an almost flat course at the height of my training peak last fall). Ha, clearly reality didn't meet my fantasy!!
And that's okay. I did what I came to do, grabbed some yummy watermelon at the end (great post-race snack!) and jumped in my car for the lengthy drive. They also had corn, because, you know, its Nebraska.
This was my first 10k that was 2 loops of a 5k course, not a large loop. I don't really care for that format, especially on a not-knee friendly course. The first time around I didn't know what I getting into, the second time around I did!!
The one awesome thing about the course was the organization. For a first year race, everything was perfect. Race day packet pick-up was a breeze, parking was plentiful, everything started on time. There was also a kids fun mile, which I watched, and totally loved. The other competitive race was a 3k in addition to the 10k I ran. There were cyclists for the lead runners for both genders of both races. The aid stations were great, the race had lots of volunteers, and the course was well marked. If I lived in the area, I would do it again ( but run more hills in preparation!).
Next up: South Carolina!
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