Triad Ten Miler

I had signed up for the Triad Ten Miler on National Running Day. They were running a promotion where it was like $30 to register. It was a local race, so I thought it would be fun.

It was scheduled to be a training run. I had all intentions of keeping it that way, until I arrived at the race. It was a beautiful cool fall day. Not to mention, this was my first ten mile race. Our running group also had a lot of runners running the race as well. Which also fueled the fire.

I did not have a goal time in mind starting out. I just decided to run by effort, and not worry what my Garmin said. After the first 3 miles I was averaging under 9 minute miles. So I decided to try and run this race keeping every mile under 9 minutes. Which would be absolutly amazing for me.

It was a hilly course, but I was feeling good. The course was beautiful. It ran through some really pretty neighborhoods and along a nice golf course.

RunnerDudes & Dudettes

I had seen two of my friends (Melanie and Michele) from my running group running about 30 seconds ahead of me for the first 5 miles. I wasn't sure if they were trying to race or just run the course. We are all very close in pace and always tend to run near each other.

They were just far enough ahead of me that it would take too much effort to catch up. So I just kept running my own race.

Then at mile 5, Melanie and Michele slowed at a water stop. I was able to catch up and began running with them. We had a great time talking, and helping to push each other up over all the hills. It really helped to make the time go by faster. I also truly believe they were the biggest reason I ended up getting such a great time in the end.

The last mile was the hardest. It was a gradual incline and you could see far down the road, but could not see the finish line. When we finally hit the final stretch, we discussed how it would be fun to try to cross the finish line at the exact same time.

The announcer spotted us and started making comments about whether or not we were going to race it out in the end. We all silently stuck to the plan, and crossed at the same time. <3

Photo Finish!

It was seriously my favorite race finish to date. I am still surprised by the relationships you make with other runners. It's a bond that happens so quickly. I really enjoyed sharing that finish with Melanie and Michele.

RunnerDudes & Dudettes with awards :)

The best part, was that none of us had ever ran a 10 mile race, so this was a PR for us all. On top of that, we truly killed this race!

We finished in 1:27:15 (average pace of 8:43 per mile)! 

We were all super excited, as this was a really good time for each one of us. I'm not sure I could have kept that pace on my own.

The icing on the cake was that I actually placed third in my age group!

Such a fun memorable race!


Running Stats:

Strava Awards

Elevation Profile

Splits According to Strava

This sums it up :) Love my Sole Sisters!!!

Race 13.1 Midtown Raleigh Fall Review

I had a great time at the 13.1 Mid-Town Raleigh Fall race. The weather was finally beautiful. We did not wake up to nasty, muggy air, making us sweat as soon as we stepped outside.

I stayed in a hotel with my friend Brittany, about 10 minutes from the start line, which again was really nice. We were able to just get up and go.

From the beginning of this race, I had planned for it to be a training run. I had learned my lesson from my 5k incident. Plus it really helped that I had finally gotten my sub 2 hour half marathon. I felt relaxed and excited to just enjoy the race, not having to worry about a PR.

Our friends Cara and Melanie were pacing the 2 hours 15 minute group, so we decided that would be perfect. It is really easy to get caught up in a race, and before you know it, you are running much faster than you are supposed to be for a training run. Plus, we had 5 more miles to run after the race, for 18 total miles (my longest distance yet).

The plan went without a hitch. The course was beautiful, running mostly on the Crabtree Creek Greenway. We got to meet a group of great runners with different goals. Katie and Janine were the two I got to know the most.

My favorite experience of the race was helping others reach their goals. Cara and Melanie do an amazing job of being race pacers. They are high energy, and really help keep everyone around them in good spirits. I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it in this race. They almost make me want to be a pacer, ALMOST. (I think it would be stressful to have to watch the clock so closely. Mad props to them!)

There was one lady around my age, that had a young son at home, her name was Katie. We had a lot in common. I really enjoyed getting to know her. She was trying to PR a 2:30 half marathon. She had ran two in that time. The second time she was like 7 months pregnant! She told me she really wanted to get a 2:15 half marathon. She picked a hard race to PR but she did it. She stuck with our group the whole time.

Around mile 10, Brittany and I pulled a little ahead of the 2:15 group. Up until this point I felt great. Problem was during this section, you come up near the finish line, only to be detoured onto another greenway for another 2.5 miles. At that point, I just all of a sudden wanted to be done. So I started to pull ahead from the group. Plus, I knew the dreaded Lassiter Hill stood in front of me and that finish line. I think Brittney was feeling the same, because she paced right along with me, as did Katie. We were all pretty quiet  at this point.

Then we came across Janine. She had started the race with us, but had pulled ahead pretty early. At this point she was walking. This was her first half marathon, so as soon as I saw her I knew she needed some support. So we started cheering for her, and telling her we were almost there. She started running with us again.

We hit the last water stop before Lassiter Hill. We walked through it knowing the hill in front of us was going to be a bear. You know it is bad when you can purchase a shirt that says “Conquer Lassiter Hill”.

We hit that hill all “Brave Heart” style yelling "Conquer the Hill". Brittney ended up pulling ahead. I just kept telling myself to just keep running no matter how slow. Katie paced right along side of me. I lost sight of Janine, but I never turned around to look for her, as I was fighting my own battle at this point.

As soon as I crested the hill, I could hear the crowd and could see the finish line. I pushed to go faster, but nothing crazy as I knew I still had 5 miles to do after the race. I was just crossing the finish line, when Katie went whizzing past me. Normally I hate getting passed right near the finish line, but this race had been about so much more. I smiled so big, and was so proud of her. I love getting to be a part of her PR story. I’d love to hear how she tells it J

Here were our finish times:

Brittany 2:13:40

Katie 2:13:55

Me 2:13:56

Janine finished her first half marathon in 2:14:53. I was so proud of her. Not only did she complete her first half marathon, but she did it under her 2:15 goal. I’d like to think we had something to do with that, but seriously she gets all the credit.

After race photo op

Race 13.1 Greensboro, Fayetteville,
and Midtown Raleigh

In some ways, this half was more satisfying then my sub 2 hour in Fayetteville. It was a tougher course in elevation, but it was way more beautiful. I also loved running with some of my sole sisters. I enjoyed not having the pressure I put myself through to PR. Most of all, I enjoyed meeting new people and helping them to reach their goals.

This was also my third finished race in the Race 13.1 Series. I received my X3 medal. That brings my half marathon count to lucky number 5.

Fun race stats:

Official Results

Course Elevation Profile