This was a great run for me. Went into the race not really trained, so wasn't sure what I could pull off. The first few mile paces were dictated by the crowds ... after that, I just kept trying to find people to follow who were working a good pace.

Around mile 8 or so, I realized that I could be close to my PR time, so decided to just push until I could push no more. I did what I had before: just try to find some fast feet to stick to to keep me on pace. As I hit mile 12, I knew it would be close and would require a faster mile than I've put together for a long time... and, I came up just short. 20 seconds short.

But - mentally - I really kept my head in this race. Stayed positive, never once did I slow or allow myself to get self-critical. Probably the best mental race I've ever had, honestly. And while I wish I could have pulled off a PR, I know I gave it everything I had.

Definite negative split race: my 10k split pace was 8:50, and my total race pace was 8:38. Niiiice.

Perhaps if I had lined up closer to the front, I could have shaved off those 20 seconds in the first two miles by not having to fight the crowds as much. My first mile @9:12 and second @8:55 had plenty of breathing room to give me that extra 20 seconds I needed.

Crossed the finish line and was started to really tighten up, so I headed back to the lakefront to find Laura and bring her in... and that was probably one of the best things I could have done for myself - seems to have really kept the soreness at bay.


Training, as always. But that's just where I am right now in my season.


This was an inaugural race, and they really did a great job with it. Tons of volunteers, everything was run pretty much on time and the post-race food was pretty tasty! (a catered breakfast!). The course was very scenic, and only crowded for the first mile or so. Probably only two downsides: the gear check procedure needs to be refined because the line was huge and not moving fast, and while you get a tech t-shirt, there was no actual goody bag, which I kind of missed.

Overall, I highly recommend this race. I signed up race morning, but I'm going to guess that it's not going to take long before this race fills up beforehand and won't allow race-day registration.