Today was the White Ranch 10K, put on by the Colorado Masters Running/RaceWalking Association. Their races are pretty low-key and inexpensive. At only $10 (or if you get a yearly $25 membership, the races are free), it seemed a great tune-up race for the relay next week. 5 of us (Frida, Phoebee, Alexa, Queen and I) decided to give it a try.
It was a gorgeous day, I wore my Team Run Wild tank, shorts and a hat, and carried my water bottle. I didn’t really know the course, other than the fact it was trails with rolling hills. The first mile was a nice steady descent.. which of course meant an uphill was imminent.
I started out in front of the group, then just past the first mile Frida passed me. I let her go for a bit, then caught up around mile 3. We stayed close for a few of the gross uphills, then there was a water stop at 3.8. She stopped for water and I took off. I actually hit a really good stride there; it was a subtle descent and my legs just did what they know to do. A few more uphills came along but nothing I couldn’t handle.
In the last little bit, I saw another girl ahead of me. I started pushing the pace.. and then we turned a corner and I saw there was probably still a half mile to go. So I slowed. Ugh! Still, I came in in 55:57 I believe, a good effort for the course.
A few things I reflected on and learned during this race: I definitely have an endurance athlete’s mentality. Even when the course went downhill in the middle, I held something back to be sure I could finish. I didn’t ever push myself to the limit. I also have an annoying habit of catching up to people, but then stopping to get some energy before passing them. I do this with derby too; get hung up behind blockers. I need to practice accelerating from an already-decent clip, just learning how to push the legs to turn over faster. I’m glad I’ve recognized it and know a way to try to get over it.
Frida came in a couple minutes after me, and the other girls not too much later. I was happy to see everyone positive and happy about the run. It was just such a gorgeous course and nice run, how could you not enjoy? A few of them said they’d run it again, and talked about possibly joining the club to do more of their races. I’m glad everyone enjoyed, and I’m even more excited for next week!
Because it IS a master’s group, there were lots of age group awards for more, ahem, mature runners. Then there was one big lump of a “19-34″ age group. Sad – I got 4th in that, but I think if there’d been a 30-34, I would have placed 2nd and Frida 3rd. Oh well..
It was fun to race, and I love trails. I’m disappointed I won’t be doing the Barr Trail Mountain Race tomorrow but I’m happy I got this one in. I love living in Colorado!
