Racing the Day Away! May 31th, 2014

If you read my blog, you know I like to run. You might even know that I set a goal of running 14 races in 2014. Most of these have been 5Ks, with the exception of one half marathon. Due to a side effect of a medication I'm taking, I can't run long distances without extreme pain. So yes, I'm running short races, but I still jumped at the chance to run a 10K with my running friend Maggi. 

We chose to run the Sunburst 10K. I think it's safe to say the Sunburst is the largest race run in the South Bend area, and it brings people from all over to qualify for some of the big races (Boston, etc). We got up way too early and drove downtown, then found our starting line and pace. Why they can't hold these races at night, is anyone's guess. My guess is they like to weed out as many people as possible, so starting the run at the butt crack of dawn gives them a reasonable starting pack of 10,000, versus my night time beer run, which would bring participants in the millions ;) When you steal my idea, at least give me credit.

Our goal was to finish in under an hour. This was Maggi's first 10K and I've run at least one other, maybe two. 10Ks just aren't that much fun. It's not cool to drop into conversations, I ran a 10K today like it is if you ran, say, a half marathon (some people would prefer you drop neither in the conversation, because they honestly could care less, but these people have no consideration for the training and effort a person goes through to run a race. To them I say, "good day!"  It's long enough though that halfway through you're wishing you ran the 5K, because you know you could be eating a banana and waiting for the times to come in, instead of having HALF A RACE TO RUN. I do have to give props to the Sunburst though, it was a fun race. People come outside of their houses to watch as the race winds through city streets and blocks of residences. Some people had their sprinklers on for us to run through for a cooling off, although it was pretty cool already for a summer morning, so we didn't avail ourselves of them. Maybe it was just fun because I was running with Maggi, and that made the time feel quicker?

We battled our way through the course. At times each of us got tired and weighed down by the demands of the race. Let me just say there's a hill, then you turn the corner and there's another hill. What the heck, city planners, don't you take these things into consideration? Not cool, not cool at all. Luckily we had each other, and we were determined, so we finished. We even sprinted at the end. That was more to show off than anything else though ;) 

Here we are, two tired ladies!