Shoes, and shorts… I’ll forever be obsessed with adidas womens shorts for lounging and racing. I wear them for every race. They don’t move in the slightest, the length is perfection and the pockets fit everything I need.
The biggest 10k that Utah has to offer… NINE men were under 30 minutes and my friend, Savannah, won the female category in 32:18! My time of 37:54 (6:06 average) had me in 141st place overall and 20th for the women. It is a screaming fast course (the first two miles you drop a lot), but still… in this heat and the altitude, I cannot believe all of the times!
My alarm clock went off at 4 am and I was in the car by 4:20 to drive to Salt Lake City to meet my friends in the lobby of their hotel. I had a Nature Valley almond biscuit in the car, water with electrolytes, and a Maurten caffeine gel on the way up. We used the restrooms at the hotel lobby and started for a 3-mile warm-up and some strides. I should have brought a waterbottle with me for the warm-up and to the starting line because I had cotton mouth during mile 1. This year is always on what feels like the hottest day of the entire year.
Our coach wanted us to use the race as a workout so we wouldn’t need much time to recover before going at it again for the rest of the week. The St. George Marathon is getting close. I wanted to run faster the first two downhill miles but stuck to the goal of the run to stay closer to my goal marathon pace (which is 6:14). The course then has an uphill, slight downhill and then flat with a finish of slight uphill the last mile (6:15 for that mile and me). Amy and I stayed controlled in the first 5 miles and were able to chat a bit and then I made the goal to not be passed in the last mile (only one guy did)!
I didn’t take this picture during the race because of the girl in yellow but seeing it reminded me, she has passed me in multiple races and EACH time she is so complimentary to every person she passes and so encouraging.
The course is along the parade route for Utah’s Pioneer Day which makes it so fun (yay cheering!) but so nauseating too (bacon grilling, weed, cigarette smoke, you name it). It is such a well-run 10k and the course is amazing through Salt Lake City, and so that outweighs my desire to never eat bacon again after yesterday;)
We took the top three for the 36-39 year olds. Tawny was a few minutes ahead of us but we’ll take it;) In 2019 I RACED my guts out that day and finished with a 6:11 average so it is fun to be 5 years older now and hitting a course PR.
Emilee is back to marathoning and she did amazing. This marathon course is a beast (why I’ve never done it haha… she is much braver than me) and it is so hot each year, I am so impressed by her and cannot wait to start marathoning together again!
I had no idea that my nephew was also there running the 10k. He ran a 31:50… a 5:07 average. Gone are the days I will ever be able to keep up with him… but when he was 11, I had a chance;)
I apologize to my brother for getting my nephew hooked on the Vaporflys$$.
The food after this race is something else. Free chick-fil-a sandwiches (?!?) and pickle juice shots.
Red Button Ice Cream… the peanut butter brownie is divine. We were served a full meal at the end of our race (which felt fun to run with in our stomachs for the cool-down:).
Close-up on Sylvia’s flamingo shorts. I think we all need these.
This race was made possible by the one and only, Curly.
Fast forward to the evening, and my niece came home from her mission! She was in Madrid, Spain! Her flight was delayed so we won’t see her until this weekend but we were able to get together with my brother and his family and my mom last night.
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When is your next race? TELL ME ABOUT IT!
Utahns reading… How did you celebrate Pioneer Day?
Best post-race food that a race you have done has offered?
Tell me what you have going on today. I want to catch up with everyone!
The post Des News 10k + A big day for the Anderson’s (aka my maiden name). first appeared on The Hungry Runner Girl.
