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| Emilie, Jessica, and I post-race |
My husband and I have been participating in the Seward Optimist Freedom Run since we moved here three years ago. However, while my husband always picks the 10k, I had chose the two mile race the last two years. It always seems to me that the "real competitors" pick the longer race and I usually have a better shot at a good place if I chose the shorter race...plus I believe that I am stronger at shorter races. However, with the goal of racing some long stuff later in the summer and early fall (half-ironman and full marathon), it is more beneficial to my fitness to race the 10k.
The fourth of July is such a fun holiday...especially in Seward. There are tons of fun activities (c'mon...whose town can boast an actual pole vault competition?! OR bed races??) and LOTS of yummy food. In fact, our town grows by several thousand people on our nation's patriotic day. In addition to everything going on in our town, my sister and friend Jessica spent the night before the race and we had plans at another friend's house that afternoon. So, getting down to business and actually racing the 10k seemed like a difficult job. We spent so much time laughing and messing around when we got to the race that it seemed like it might be a day of simply jogging it out.
We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning. Temps were in the 60's (unthinkable for July) and the wind was minimal. Since the race was so close to our home, we didn't leave our house until 6:15am, with the race slated to begin at 7. We got lined up about 5 minutes to race start and toed the line at 6:59am. When the gun went off, we all darted out. I had decided to bring my music for this race as a 10k can seem pretty long on an out and back course in the country. I do not wear headphones, but simply let my music play from my iphone...it is really important to me that I am aware of my surroundings. (Plus, it's a little annoying when someone is trying to cheer and they don't notice at all because their music is so loud.)
Other than two big hills, the course wasn't too difficult. This particular race was marked by kilometers instead of miles, which was a nice change. I felt really good the entire race and felt like I ran an even pace. I crossed the line in second place (to a runner from New Jersey) and my time was 40:49. They awarded the first place finisher with $100, and I received $50. Since we had a little extra cash money, Jessica, Emilie, Philip, and I went to our church's pancake breakfast afterwards and then walked around the town.
Great race, great day. While it's always a good day to be a runner, it is especially great to wake up on our nation's big day with a run.
Happy Running!
Complete race results can be found here: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=13592
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