Oktoberfest 10K

So I haven't done a race since the marathon in June! Crazy to think of, when I usually have one at least once a month! When I moved up to Utah and realized that their racing schedule is complete opposite of Arizona's, I signed up a race right away. See, in AZ they have all of their races from October, all the way through the winter, until April or even May. In Utah, they have all of their road races from early April, all the way through summer, until November-ish. So when I got here I knew I had to sign up for a race if I wanted to get any racing in before winter!


I picked the Oktoberfest 10K, which was in Highland, only half an hour north of Provo. Cute little town, and the course was only through neighborhoods on the streets. I love doing race recaps, so here goes...


I always like to be at races an hour early, but apparently in Utah that's not a rule. Haha! I think I was one of the first runners there, so I picked up my bag and shirt and had 45 minutes to kill in my car. Thank goodness for smart phones and seats that go back really far! So I cruised facebook for a bit, read some news, closed my eyes for a little while. Ate some GU (note: pineapple flavor=gross. Mint chocolate flavor=yum!) and was excited and rearing to go at 8 a.m. The field was small, only 150 people, which made it the only time that I was worried that I would be last! Haha! Anyway, the race director said "Go!" and we were off!


It was wonderfully chilly and overcast, my favorite kind of running. My legs felt like lead for some reason, I was starting to get worried that I wasn't ready for racing right yet. Well, the GU hadn't kicked in yet! I hit the first mile in 10:45, which was what I was aiming for, so I wasn't that worried after the first mile. Then I found myself pushing it for the next three miles. At first I was telling myself, "slow down! Save it for the last couple miles!" But then I had one of my favorite running quotes come to my mind, "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a board and knock me down, because that means I didn’t run hard enough" (Steve Jones). So I told myself, "Okay, I'm gonna push it the whole time and see what happens!"

Whenever I've run races, I always like to think that I push myself harder than just a normal training run. And this race was no different. I was booking it the whole time, and I was even passing people! ME! Passing people?? Who would've thought? I tried to keep count, and I think I passed about 8 to 10 people. It felt so good, because it showed to me that I really was pushing as hard as I could, and I felt like I was running a great race. I kept a pretty even pace, around 10 minutes per mile, until I hit mile 5.5 and really let it go. I rounded a corner and ran down a small but steep hill towards the finish, and I gave it my all into that final sprint. I crossed the finish line in 01:03:12, which surprised me because I was really aiming for a 01:10 finish at least, since it was my first race in a long time. I was very happy! I almost PR'd, too! My best 10K time is 01:02:42, so that means I missed a new personal record by about 30 seconds. Which I am TOTALLY fine with because I never thought I would get that close in this race.

This race made me super SUPER excited for the Halloween Half next weekend. Based on the pace I ran in the 10K on a flat course, and because the Halloween Half is straight downhill, I think me and Heather could easily break 2:10, if we both have good days. Having such a good time in the 10K was a huge boost to my "performance self-esteem" , and I CANNOT wait for the half. AH!