PrairieFest 10k, 2017

Why do I keep paying to run a race that I can run for free every single day? Why do I keep coming back to this race and this distance? I have nothing but high hopes, barfy feelings, pee my pants effort and dashed dreams and it costs me money to feel this way. You, too, can have this every August for less than $30.

I keep coming back because it is literally my local race. It goes directly past my house every year and I know lots of runners. While I love cheering all the runners on while I sit in a lawn chair and eat cinnamon rolls, it's also hard for me not to be out pounding the pavement with them. This year I had even declared to Anne and Kristy I would not be running it. But as I went to bed the night before, I decided it would be weird of me to go out for a run on my own and finish at the same time the race was starting. 

I woke up early, whispered to Bill I was running the 10k, had my usual pre-run breakfast and headed out to register at the park, a half block away. After registering, I went out for a long warm-up. I need at least a mile of very easy running before I'm anywhere near ready to go. I did a bunch of dynamic stretches at the back of the crowd and chatted with a friend.  My goal was to not want to quit while giving it about 80% effort. 

I envy the runners who look so cute. No I don't. They probably got up extra early to look that way.
I rolled out of bed. Obviously. 

Every year I want to quit. Every year people comment that this must be a breeze for me. So this year I will attempt to set the record straight. Yes, I've run further than 6.2 miles before. Yes, I run 6.2 miles more often than not in my daily training. But racing 6.2 miles is different. For me, 6.2 miles is gas to the floor kind of running. I've been working more on speed this summer than ever but in general I'm always working on very technical terrain which is slower or longer distances which is also slower. To say a 10k is a breeze for me is not the case. It is work. But if you tell me next year that this must have been easy for me, I'll probably smile and mumble something not bad.

So there I was at the back of the crowd. I didn't move up or position myself to some advantage. I knew there would only be a handful of runners doing the 10k to begin with. The truly fast ones would be where they belonged and I would be where I belonged, towards the back away from the fast cross country kids who would be done and gone before I crossed the finish line. I didn't care where I was. The race is run on roads the entire time and we are able to spread out across the width of the road. I could maneuver around runners as need be and not get caught up in them.

I popped in my earbuds and surveyed the crowd ahead of me. I watched the 5k's take the turn to head back and started calculating who might be ahead of me. This year it seemed the 10k participants was especially small. We stretched the entire length of East 1st street. This is always the longest section for me. I hardly ever run it (for free) and every time I do, I feel it sucks the life from me. Today I didn't allow myself to feel that way. A couple miles ticked off and I took time to look at my pace. I was pleased and decided to try to negative split the race. It would probably hurt but I decided it was the only way to make peace with this race this year.

My nephew and a couple of his friends has by-passed the 50k and went for the 10k, something I'm kind of proud of. They hung just in front of me. I knew he could pick it up but secretly hoped I could at least creep in front of him for a bit. I didn't say a word as I inched my way closer. I considered if it would be bad for him if his aunt beat him but before I could come to a conclusion those boys must have decided they were done being out there and just left me in the dust like I was standing still. 

I made all the usual turns along the course. I thanked the volunteers who stood offering water but took none. I rounded the corner right next to our house where a neighbor was out walking her tiny doggy. She remarked about me stopping to go inside and I laughed. I could actually do that. But I didn't and I didn't want to quit either. I was starting to gain on a couple of people and was hoping to make a pass. However, the distance from my house to finish line is just shy of a mile and one of the runners took off. I didn't have that kind of speed to catch her. I kept plying myself to finish strong.

I crossed the finish line to a few cheers. I was pleased with my time considering having just raced the 2/3 marathon the weekend before. I was happy to find I had some leg turnover after having a really rough Spring and an easy Summer to make up for the Spring. Later I looked at my mile splits and found that I ran each mile faster than the previous. I negative split the run. I collected my age group first place medal and headed to the parade where everyone else was already at.

Warning: Do not feed the ultra-runner a 10k