2013 Charlotte RaceFest 10k

April 13, 2013 7:30 AM
Charlotte, NC

	Time	Pace	Division	Division Place	Gender Place	Overall Place	Bib #
Malissa	1:06:42	10:44	F30-34	61/87	312/511	553/801	3480

Written by Malissa:

First off I would like to say that my heart is heavy for all the families that have been affected by the bombings at the Boston Marathon. I'm still struggling to put in words my thoughts about everything so I will just continue to pray for everyone. As a mom, marathoner, spectator/ cheerleader, it scares me but I will continue to run and will dedicate my Country Music Half Marathon race on April 27 to them. I am thankful to be apart of the great running community.

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Here's my race recap from my 10k race on Saturday:
I ran the Columbia, SC Marathon Relay in March to get an idea of what my pace should be for the Country Music Half Marathon. I finished with some gas still left in the tank so I told Owen I needed one more race before I run the half marathon on April 27. The Country Music Half is really hilly so I was looking for a local 10k that had some hills. My friend Joana told me there was a 10k that went along with the half marathon she was running in with a friend from work. Lynne also wanted to run the 10k but we agreed to run our own races.

I went back and forth on what time I wanted to try for. It has been over a year since my last 10k (1:17:45) so I knew I would be able to PR but by how much? I have a short term goal of getting my 10k below an hour but knew as much as I wanted it for this race, I'm just not there yet. In my mind I thought I could run a 1:05 but finally decided to go for 1:07 out of fear of totally crashing. Once I decided on the 1:07, I had Owen print me a pace tattoo.

I haven't been nervous for a race in a long time, but for some reason this race gave me butterflies. I knew this race could go one of two ways; I could have an awesome PR or I could crash real hard and of course I was hoping for the PR.

The 10k started on the left of the street and the half marathoners on the right. The first three miles were so crowded that I missed the first water stop. It was on the right and I didn't even see it until I was almost past it. I thought to myself, it's a good thing I don't need water yet. I believe it was right after three miles that we split off from the half marathoners. Because they had the 10k lined up on the left I expected at the split for us to go straight and the half marathon to turn right but at the last minute I saw that the 10k was to turn right. I'm sure I cut off a few people as I hurried to turn right.

There were rolling hills the first three mile and for the most part I was able to stick with my tattoo but I was a little worried that I might have pushed it a little too hard. Mile four is where I start to finally get in my groove and I was really looking forward to mile four because it was a nice gradual downhill. It was really nice to catch my breath a little. Mile four was a really fast mile for me and I was feeling more confident about my 1:07 finish.

I knew there was another hill coming. I felt really good going into the hill and was hoping I would run right up it, no problem, just like the other hills. Nope, this hill took everything out of me. I was crawling up it and even wanted to walk but talked myself out of it. After that hill there was another incline up to the finish line. I was in a lot of pain, I wanted to give up, but then I heard music to my ears. I could hear go Mom and go Malissa! Just what I needed to push me through the pain to the finish line. I didn't crash and finished with in 1:06:42! Lynne was right on my tail with a 1:12.

Joana finished her half marathon shortly after. Oh and guess what? Joana had an emergency root canal two days before her half marathon. I repeat two days! Now that's determination and dedication with a little bit of crazy :)

Here's a quick video of our start and finish: