10k Magic City Blues Soul 10k Recap

 The Magic City Blues Soul Run 10 Race Recap!  I am not sure if they had any photographers there, but here is a post race self portrait.  I forgot to bring my camera with me.  Boo..  Don't mind the grass the damn grasshoppers have eaten everything green that was left.  I wore one of my favorite Lululemon skirts and a New Balance tank that I also love, and of course my Handful sports bra because they are the BEST! :)  I picked up my packet the morning of the race and left a little early thankfully because I had not read the instructions clearly and went to the WRONG park.  I had no idea how to find South Park.  So I called my husband in a panic and he saved the day! Thankfully it wasn't very far away and I still got there in plenty of time.  This was the first year for this race so despite being pretty well advertised it was not well attended.  My only goal going into the race really was to get a new PR.  It was a gun start with a chip finish. 

The gun went off and off we went.  I tried to reign it in and the start and did pretty good the first mile was under 7 minutes, but I could tell I was going to have to fight to hold on to getting a PR.  My legs felt tired by the time I hit half a mile.  Miles 2 and 3 were both 7:08 minute miles.  I was thinking okay if I can hold this I have a PR in the books. Then we turned around and I started to lose it mentally a little.  I was a little thrown off by how tired I felt, I couldn't get my breathing to line out and I was starting to get a side ache.  Don't I sound like a whiner here?

Anyway so I tried to pull it together and just concentrate on my breathing and form for a while.  That helped but mile 4 was done in 7:21.  Mile 5 was 7:23 and at this point I knew if I could just hold on a little longer the PR was mine!  So I wish I could say I dug deep and pulled a faster split for the last mile but it was 7:28.  Hang on little legs!  The last .2 went fast and the official time when I crossed was 44:45, a PR by 25 seconds.

10ks seem mentally hard for me.  I don't know why. Of course I have only done two of them but I like 5ks and half marathons so much better. Maybe after I get a few more under my belt I will like them more.I was trying to do a negative split, failed big time.  That doesn't bother me too bad since I got a great time.  I also know I haven't been hitting the speed work as much as I should be, so I will have to get back to work on that!

It was a pretty well organized race for the first year.  They had a band playing at the turnaround and one at the finish, so that was fun.  there were also a lot of people along the way ringing cowbells.  Okay not a lot but about 5 or 6 every mile.  But that is about enough cowbell ringing for this girl.
 

They had water, chocolate milk, popsicles and pizza at the finish line.  The pizza smelled good and looked good, but when I tried a little piece my stomach was not ready for it. So I had some chocolate milk and popsicles instead.  I had a great time overall and had fun catching up with everyone.  I am starting to think I love the socializing as much as I love the racing.

Then I did a run to Costco and found this great shirt by Champion.  It came in four awesome colors, three of which I want, but I just got this one. There was also black, teal green, and berry.  I want them all except berry. 

 and look it his sleeves with thumb holes.  I love thumb holes.  The sleeves are super long even on the small that I got.  Super bonus cuz I hate sleeves that are too short.  Being tall and thin  is often a problem with small shirts, the sleeves are too short.

 It has some fun stitching details and the shirt is nice and long too, covers the belly nicely

 Never mind the mess btw, I ran a race this morning instead of cleaning!  What do you think do I look fast  in this shirt?  At 16.99 it was pretty cheap and I love the material it is made out of.  Yet another reason to love Costco. 

Guess I can take the tags off now. It's mine!

Okay now that I am done blogging I will go do some laundry then start catching up on blogs. Can't wait to read everyone else's race reports. 

Have you ever had pizza after a race? 

What is the strangest food you have found at the postrace refreshment tables? 
What race is the hardest for you mentally?