Fleet Feet Sports Women’s 10k Recap

Fleet Feet Sports Women’s 10k Recap

On Sunday, I ran my seventh race, first race in Chicago, and my first 10k!

Saturday after the blogger meet up I drove to Fleet Feet Sports to pick up my race packet. The race was sponsored by New Balance so we got these super cute pink sleeveless tanks. I can’t wait to wear it on my next run.

After I picked up my race packet I walked around the old town neighborhood in Chicago for a couple of hours. Walking up and down the beautiful streets, and dreaming of eventually living there, was so much fun. I love the historic neighborhood with Victorian-era buildings, cute shops, and lots of fun bars. I. Want. To. Live. There.

Race morning started early when I woke up at 3:30a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep, and I just wasn’t feeling the race. I was definitely questioning my sanity for racing with only 4 hours of sleep.

I was a little anxious which was making my stomach feel off. I ate a Clif bar, drank some water, repeated a few positive mantras to myself, and then headed out to the race.

The race is the largest 5k & 10k for women in the Midwest. The course follows Chicago’s beautiful lakefront, starting and finishing at Montrose Harbor. I arrived at 6:30a.m. which was way too early. It was my first race with out having my family or a friend with me so it was a little different. I did a 15 minute warmup, said hi to Dave Zimmer and then went to the start to line up. While waiting for the race to begin, I started having some negative thoughts and felt intimidated by the other runners around me. I should have been focused on my goals and what my coach and I talked about the night before, but instead, I was beating myself up for not feeling like a real racer. I know it’s silly and I should have been out there to have fun because I LOVE to run but for some reason my head wasn’t in it.

They played the National Anthem and the race kicked off at 7:30 on the dot. I seem to always go out too fast during races, I did my first mile @ 6:59 despite trying to keep it slow. The heat + humidity and the negative thoughts made for a tough race. I wanted to run a sub 45:00 so I didn’t quite meet my goal. I really wanted to push it at the last mile but for some reason I didn’t have it in me. My official time was 45:53, 9th in my age group, and 38th overall. I think my expectations were just a little too high. This was my first 10k so I really didn’t know how I was going to feel.

Despite not running a sub 45:00, I really enjoyed the race and I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. I’m going to use this race as a learning experience and motivation to kick ass at the Rock n’ Roll Half and the Chicago Marathon!!

I have to say, Fleet Feet Sports Women’s 5k & 10k race was so well organized. There was plenty of water, Gatorade, and food, clearly visible mile markers, and great sponsors giving away goodies. It was a great event. It was fun to do a women’s specific event and feel the girl power spirit!

After the race I got the chance to meet Cate, from Good For You Blog, Mana, and her friend Renee. This was Mana’s first 10k and Cate was able to PR, which is very impressive in that kind of heat.

After Fleet Feet Sports post-race festival we headed to Horizon Cafe for brunch.

We ended up having a smaller group than we expected but it was nice to get to know some local runners.

 

About Sara

Comments

  1. Congrats on your first 10K Sara! Even though you didn’t quite meet your goal you still got a great time, especially considering the heat. and since it was your first 10K it is an automatic PR! 😉

    how funny that this was both our first race without having family or friends there with us.

    Wish I could have made it to brunch, but it was great meeting you after the race. We have to plan another meet up soon 🙂

  2. Awesome job!!!!! I really want to do that race next year. Thought about doing it this year but I’m trying to limit how much I spend on race fees.

    I’m doing RnR Chicago as well … although I’m pretty sure I’ll be a bit slower than you. My goal is to finish in 2:22 or faster.

    Also I looove Old Town too. Such a pretty neighborhood. A bit out of my price range. But maybe I can afford it when I retire 🙂

  3. Even though you didn’t meet your goal time you did AMAZING Sara! I wish I could run as fast as you! Maybe one day! 🙂

  4. Sara! That is a phenomenal time–I hope you realize that! Congrats! 🙂

  5. Eeeek…this looked like so much fun!! And hush up, you are an amaaaazing racer! I’m so inspired by you! You looked great for the race and that shirt you got was super cute! I still think you did a fabulous job!

Leave a Reply to Lisa @ Healthy Diaries Cancel reply

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.