My First 10K race - Race for Grief

My triathlon coach Lora is the race director of a local 10k running race called Race for Grief.  The proceeds of the race go towards counseling services for people who loose babies or infants.  See raceforgrief10k.com for more details.

I'd never run a 10k race before. I'd previously done a few 5k races but this was double the distance.  I've had knee issues in the past so I was nervous about re-injuring it.  The race started off with a bang and I was off.  I was happy that I was keeping a pretty consistent pace throughout the race.  I came to the first aid station and recognized the volunteer as someone from the South Davis Road Runners. SDRR is a local running club also headed up by Lora.  I went onto the next aide station and the volunteer was again someone I knew.  In fact, I knew every volunteer at the aide stations and the people directing traffic.  How cool is that?! That fact made me want to run even faster. A couple of girls kept passing me and then I passed them. It went back and forth, back and forth.  I saw the end and sprinted to the finish.  My time 52 minutes.  Not bad for my first 10k.  I placed 4th in my age group and 15th place overall. I was so happy when I finished I was already thinking of when the next time I could run another 10k race.  It was also the first time my husband had run a 10K.

The Team

I was accepted as a member of Lora's triathlon team. Hooray! Team Blonde Runner (TBR).  Being a stay at home mom the idea of having teammates and working out as a group was very appealing to me.  I love the TBR team.  At my first track practice with them every time someone would pass me they'd say positive things like, "welcome to the team!" or "good work!".  I've always been kind of shy around others that work out around me.  Thanks to that group environment I'm not anymore.  I always yell or wave hello to cyclist or runners when I'm working out.   

The team is extremely supportive of each other.  I was amazed to see other teammates go to each other's races to support them and cheer them on.  What a great support system!