I had a goal in mind for this race (assuming I felt 100%), but since I wasn't sure what the course was like, I didn't know how realistic that goal was. My goal this year is to run a sub 42 10k to get a sub-seeded spot at the P'tree. Well, I wasn't feeling that great, my legs were really sore and my ankle was hurting. So, I told myself I'd see how I felt once I started and run my best. The first mile was fast, I hit the mile marker in about 6:08. But it was somewhat flat to downhill, so I was okay with a fast start. There was a long gradual hill approaching the turn around at about 1.8 miles in. I tried to settle into a hard but managable pace but the head wind was making it tough. When I got passed the mile 2 marker, I heard this guy running next to me that sounded like he was going to have a heart attack. He was grunting so loudly with every step. It was starting to drive me nuts. I tried to speed up, but I couldn't lose him. I didn't want to slow down, so I just tried to tune him out. It was tough. I thought to myself, if I have to listen to this guy for the next 4 miles, I'm not going to make it. But fortunatelly, we approached the halfway point and he veared off towards the 5k finish line. Thank god! He probably wouldn't have survived the 10k anyway.

I was hoping to run the first loop in about 20:30 leaving me room for the second loop in case I couldn't negative split it. Well, I hit the 3.1 mark at about 20:50 and I knew that I would have a tough time matching that pace for the second loop. I tried to keep my mind focused and positive that my goal was still reachable, but the head winds really picked up and I was struggling to run at my 6:43 min/mile average goal. I settled in behind Barbara Chandler and just tried to use her to pace me. She's a great runner and typcially runs a 41 minute 10k. I kept her about 20 feet in front of me for most of the race. I approached the turn around which was about 4.5 miles in, grabbed some water, and headed back down the hill. I saw Chuck behind me and looked for Steve. No sign of him. I was wondering if Steve started hurting and Chuck was going to beat him. Chuck seemed to be running a good race. I saw a few other friends out on the course and just waved because I couldn't talk. I kept looking at my watch doing the math. I saw that I was averaging a 6:50 and knew I couldn't hit my goal. So, I just gave it my all and ran hard through the last mile. I turned the last corner and ran as fast as I could. I ended up finishing 4 seconds behind Barbara Chandler with a time of 42:38. So close yet so far from my goal. That's okay because on that day, I knew I left it all out there and I couldn't have run any harder. I'll just have to find a flatter course to set my PR. At least I beat my last 10k time by 1 minute. So, overall, it was a great race for me. The bonus is that I ended up finishing 2nd in my age group and won a medal. I had no expectations of this based on last year's results. It was a good way to start off the new year.

The strong head winds.