So, it’s been a while, but it’s been busy so I figure right now is the perfect time for a recap of my first 10K.
The 2nd annual B.A.A. 10K happened on Sunday, June 24th. Starting on Charles Street, in between the Boston Common and the Public Gardens, the 10K course was one I was very familiar with.
What I wasn’t that familiar with though… was the heat.
My running partner and I got dropped off by our significant others and headed to the bag drop/bathrooms/starting area and you could feel the temperature start to creep up. By the time we started running at 8:15, it was 80F.
The first couple of miles were great, Comm. Ave was shaded there were people all around and it was gorgeous. I knew that once we hit BUs campus the scenery wouldnt be as pretty, so I used that as some motivation. Also really cool thing? Because of the 4 different start times, by the time we were at about 1.5 miles, the elite runners were already heading back.
We had to stop for a few minutes at mile one because my running partner had to use the bathroom (again). I wasn’t pleased, but we were at a steady 9:30min/mile pace. I think i was more bummed that I lost my rhythm.
Then, once we cut onto Bay State and back on to Comm. Ave at BU it hit me – BU HAS NO TREES. I went to BU for 4 years… and i never noticed the lack of trees. That was until you are running on newly paved roads in 80 degrees. It was hot. I had to walk for a little bit when we got almost to the 5K turn around point. It felt like my feet were on fire.
After the turn around, you can see the skyline of the city and I remember thinking “shit… I have to run past all those buildings” but it was “all downhill from there” and something great happened – I just ran. I didn’t care any more at that point about the time, or the heat, or anything. I just wanted to finish strong.
Once we got back to the Back Bay area of Comm Ave it was all or nothing. I pushed myself so hard that last mile – I refused to walk any of the last mile, I was going to finish running. Heading down the finishing area, hearing everyone screaming, seeing runners who had finished before cheering us on, gave me that extra push. The picture that I posted before, that picture is the perfect representation of how the end of that run was – happy that I was finishing, and completely spent.
My pace was 10:44min/mile (according to official results), which factors in that 3 minute bathroom stop, and my official end time was 1:06:41. So i guess, when you minus 3 minutes it becomes 1:03? So i didn’t make it under an hour, but, considering it was hot and it was my first 10K, I’m proud of what I accomplished.
It was such a great race – I will def be signing up to do it again next year.
Next up? COLOR ME RAD ON JULY 15th!!
