B&O Express 10k

This morning I ran the local 10k, the B&O Express 10k and 5k. it's an annual event that raises money to fund the building of a rail trail through our county. The trail is only 3 miles from my house so I've run on it many times and am really, really looking forward to when they can extend it.
I just ran a HM on Saturday and haven't been doing speedwork this summer. I wasn't expecting much from this race but I did, of course, want to do my best. It's been very hot this week as well so was just wanting to finish under 55 mins.
This is a newer race but the RD sent an email out saying there were over 200 runners preregistered. I figured any chance of an AG placement was out the window with a larger field.
Woke up to 60* temps and overcast skies. The start/finish was at a hospital a mile from our house. DH and I got our bibs and used the facilities. The 10k started at 8:00 and the 5k 10 mins after so we lined up and waited for the start. I checked out the crowd and looked like 2 fast girls up front and a several average looking girls around me. After the usual sponsor welcome and race info, we were off! Dh and I ran together out of the parking lot to the main road (we both run this road at least once a week so it was kinda neat to run it in a race). He gave me a quick slap on the a$$ and wished me good luck as he ran ahead.

The cooler weather feels amazing and I'm feeling equally amazing as I settle into a pace and pass some of the slower runners. Pass up the first water stop and hit mile 1 in 8:29. Soon we turn onto the Rail Trail and I settle in right behind two men who were running a steady 8:05 pace. I decide to pace behind them and see how long I can hold this. Mile 2 goes by in 8:22.

Mile 3 starts off as we exit the trail and into a neighborhood. They had to re-route us due to the National Dragster race being rescheduled this weekend due to being rained out last weekend. So instead of a nice, straight road, we're doing loops around a boring neighborhood. I pass up the men in here but they are right on my tail. Skip the water stop. 8:03 for this mile.
I expected to start feeling pretty crappy by this time but mile 4 went by really well too. I must have lost some focus because my time for mile 4 was 8:22.

We leave the neighborhood and run alittle bit before turning and joining the 5k runners. The road gets more crowded as the 5kers are running in small groups and at a slower pace. One of the men who I had been running behind starts matching me stride for stride. I was not going to be passed by him so this mile went by pretty fast - 8:07.

The guy stays with me and I stay with him so the next mile hurts some but not terrible. There were a few little rolling hills (hills in the Central Indiana flat-as-a-pancake sense) but I push up them without issue. Skip the last water stop (oh how I love cooler weather!) and turn into the hospital for the last part. I'm still running with the guy and we're passing 5kers left and right. I can't tell if there are any 10k women in front of me but I hadn't seen any since mile 2 so I figured that I couldn't pass any now anyways. I see DH at mile 6 and he yells something about get moving. Mile 6 was 8:09.
Another turn in the parking lot and theres the finish line. I give it a kick and so does my shadow-guy. We cross the finish at the exact as time. I check my watch and it says 50:02! A PR by 3 minutes!!

DH and I walk around as I cool down. We decide to stick around for awards, just in case. DH said he only noticed a few other women finish before me.
The awards start and I won my AG! I was 1st out of 10, 5/33 females, 38/94 overall, 8:05 pace.

I got a nice medal in the shape of a train and a $15 gift card to the LRS. Oh and a huge smile.
DH had a great race too, he finished 15th over all, 5th in his AG. Good morning for our house!

Indy Women's Half Marathon

Saturday was the 2nd Indy Women's HM, held in Indianapolis, my city. I was running the half while my 8 yo DD was running the 5k. She won her AG last year and was really hoping to repeat.  My mom was also run/walking the 5k.

Last year, it was so hot that they blackflagged the race at the 3 hour mark. This year, we had the remenants of Issac looming over us. Here's the Weather.com snapshot on race morning at 5:20am.


I warned DD that she's probably be running in the rain but that it wouldn't hurt her (DH was planning on running with her as well just so she wasn't by herself). I didn't care about the rain and was just hoping that we wouldn't have thunderstorms. Temp was 75* and humidity was high with the storm rolling in.

Race starts on time at 7:00. I don't have any plans to PR at this race as I haven't been training for a PR but I was hoping to finish by 1:55 and no later then 2:00. I set my Garmin pace keeper at 9:00.

Mile 1-3 8:39, 8:35, 8:43 - Started up close to the front, knowing this was going to be a popular race for first timers. Even with starting 10 feet from the start line, I had to dodge slow movers. Got settled into my pace and really tried to just enjoy running through downtown Indianapolis in the pre-dawn hours. Skipped the first water stop and walked quickly through the next one.

Mile 3-6 8:38, 8:31, 8:33 - Felt pretty good, course was still crowded but moving well. But the humidity was kicking in for me. I decided to walk the water stops from here on out, knowing they would be every mile or so. Ha. I'm running and see the neon yellow shirts of volunteers and get excited about water only to see that they have water, a table but no cups. Well, that means I'm going to at least mile 7 without water after getting water at mile 5. I start to get discouraged but decide to just keep going.

Miles 7-9 8:55, 8:42, 8:47 - Yea - water stop! And I'm not the only one who was happy to see it, nearly everyone stops and walks for a few steps here. The water was cold too so now I'm feeling refreshed. I check my watch and figure that DD is finishing her 5k by now and I'm sending her good thoughts. A guy driving a Uhaul ignores the orange cones and pulls out into our lane, about 10 feet in front of me. I pound on his window and yell "Closed road, dumba$$".

Mile 10-12 8:46, 8:31, 8:54 - Downtown buildings are now in sight. I'm thankful for the overcast weather but wishing it would just rain as the humidity was nasty. I want to be done. I'm running now on roads that I've run on for nearly every race I've done in Indianapolis and distract myself by reading the different races mile markers , start and finish lines that are spray painted on the roads and try to figure out which races they were from. I also start thinking about the post race party and deciding what type of beer I'm gonna get. I see my dad at mile 12 and he grabs a picture of me. I take my time walking through this last water stop. I can see the post race party and just want to be done.
Mile 13, 1/18th - 9:04, 1:35 Like I said, I just wanted to be done and mentally unfocused for a few seconds. I charge to the finish line and cross, happy to be done. Grab my medal, lose my breakfast off to the side (not unusual for me to puke after a sprint to the finish). My dad is there and tells me that DD did well but wasn't sure of her time. DH finds me and tells me that DD finished in 32 mins, a 10 min PR! But finished 3rd and was pretty upset about it. The first place girl for 10 and under finished in 23:20! And the second place girl beat DD by 15 seconds.
I grab a beer from the local brewery, some strawberries and pineapple and a turkey wrap. Turn around and there's DD walking towards me, with a trophy in hand but major tears. She just kept saying that she had wanted to win, that she was upset about losing. I just hugged and hugged her and told her how proud I was of her. We checked the results board and she finished 80th/414 so that helped cheer her up.




Her winnings:



My final finishing time was 1:54:51, just under what I wanted to finish at. I was pretty happy with that since my long runs and speed work have been pretty non-existent this summer. 15th in AG, 90/1414 finishers.
Mom finished in 47 mins and got 4th in her AG!  I hope she decides to push a little more with her training and try for another 5k this fall.
I love this race. I know there is controversy about women only races and "fru-fru" post race parties but there were some fast women there. The winner finished in 1:16 and won $1000. There was $4000 in prize money for the first 10 finishers and extra bonus money if you finished under 1:15. It's a well run race, nice expo, excellent post-race party, beautiful medal. And only $35 ($10 extra for a shirt, long sleeved) during early registration. I'll be back next year!