Jenn's First 10 Mile Race!!!

For the past two months Parker has  been bugging me about signing up for the Manassas Park 10 Miler.  He thought with all the running I've been doing I may as well make a race out of it!  I finally signed up about three weeks before the race and was super nervous about it.  I knew I could run 10 miles, I've done it a couple times, but I didn't know what to expect in a "race."  I usually run alone and  didn't know if I'd like the race environment.  Luckily this race was pretty small so it was a good first race for me. 

 

Here I am ready to go in the morning...

Ready to go at the starting line...

Parker surprised me with signs that the boys made.  They each picked out what they wanted to say.  Jackson's says "I love you mommy," Josh's says "Don't Lose Mommy," and Tyce's says "Go Mommy!"  Haha this is what I saw when on my 2nd mile...

The first two miles were on the road and I was doing great, then I got to the golf course.  OH MY GOSH.  Luckily I didn't know what the trail was like through the golf course or I probably wouldn't have done the race.  There were sooooo many very steep hills, up and down.  The uphills were so hard, my legs were burning and the downhills were hard because they were so steep I was worried I'd fall forward.  I had trained on hills and run two big ones and lots of gradual ones each run but I was not prepared for how long and steep these were.  About mile 6 I ran by an attendant who pointed me up this big hill, I said, "are you kidding?"  Haha, he responded..."it just gets worser from here mam!"  Thanks for the encouragement dude!  He was right though, it got "worser" and harder.  :)  I was surprised to see my fans cheering me on at hole 16...

Here's a little video Parker took of me, I promise I'm moving even though it doesn't look like it!  Haha those hills just killed me...

Once I got out of the golf course I was relieved but tired.  Running through the neighborhoods was more of what I was used to but my legs were so sore from the hills that it was harder than usual.  I was SO excited to see Matt, Lori, and Adam cheering me on at the corner of Manassas Drive and Carondelet then Traci and her girls were cheering me on at the 7-11.  Here's a video she took, I LOVE how the girls were cheering for me (they're usually so shy and quiet and reserved)...

I had no idea how much it would mean to me to have people cheering me on but it meant SO much!  Parker had a gps tracker on my cell so he was able to find me four different times on the route.  Seeing everyone really kept me smiling and kept me going.  I imagined myself sprinting across the finish line but I didn't have much energy left by the end.  My time was 1 hour and 37 minutes.  My mile averages were mostly 9s with two 10s and two 8s.  According to my phone and two other racers I talked to it ended up being 10.2 miles so taking that into account my average mile time was 9:18/mile which I am THRILLED with considering the hills I had to climb!  Here I am finishing...

 

I got 2nd place for women and 8th place overall.  I passed two guys which was fun and I didn't let anyone pass me!  Well, obviously except for the 7 that beat me but they started out ahead of me from the very beginning!

I am so glad I did this race and so proud of myself.  It was a very challenging course, the lady who got 1st place told me it was the first race she's had to walk in 30 years!  I feel like if I can do those hills and still run 10 miles that I could do a half marathon with more gradual hills.  Now I'm on the hunt for a fun half marathon to do! 

After the race my stomach and legs really hurt, I took a nap but couldn't really sleep because my legs were so tight.  Parker and I went out to dinner that night to celebrate and our steaks took forever and sitting in the booth was brutal, my calves were cramping up big time.  Today I'm even more sore but I know that it was worth it!