Lynchburg 10 Miler

It's a week later and I'm just now writing about the race I ran in Lynchburg last weekend. This week has been a bit of a crazy ride... but last weekend was awesome. The Genworth Virginia 10 miler was a great race! I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Tristan had told me to expect hills, so I was prepared for it to be a tough race. We started out the race going downhill for about a mile and since it was an out-and-back course, I kept thinking about how we were going to have to go back up that hill at the end. There were several up and downs throughout the course, but Tristan and I actually passed a lot of people going up hills. We didn't over-exert ourselves on the hills, but tried to keep a nice easy pace. When we got to the long hill at the end, it actually wasn't that bad. It was about a mile uphill, but it was a gradual incline. I had been expecting that hill to be the worst, but some of the hills in the middle part of the course were steeper and more difficult, so by the time we got to the end, it wasn't that bad!

The weather was perfect for the race. It was overcast, breezy, and not too hot. I've learned that the weather can be a HUGE factor in any race, so I'm always thankful for clouds and cool weather on race day. I've learned that it's a good thing if I'm a little cold before the race because I warm up as soon as I start running. Tristan and I ran the whole thing together. We weren't trying to PR, we were trying to keep a good pace and use this race as part of our marathon training.

Our splits are variable because of the hills, but we averaged a 9:37 pace. Here are the splits I recorded:

Mile 1: 9:09 (downhill)
Mile 2: 9:55
Mile 3: 10:02
Mile 4: 9:58
Mile 5: 9:29
Mile 6: 9:42
Mile 7: 9:27
Mile 8: 9:26
Mile 9: 9:56
Mile 10: Missed it, but just over 9 minutes. 9:02? (calculated).
I sprinted the last 0.3 miles!

Official time: 1:36:06

I came in 39th in my age group. Also interesting to note, my five mile split was 48:33, which means I ran the final five miles in 47:33, which means I negative split for the first time ever (even if it was only by one minute)!

After the race, Tristan and I got pizza and other goodies, then we realized free massages were available for the runners. As we were waiting in line for massages, I mentioned to Tristan that we should run two more miles to get in our 12 for marathon training (haha). But Tristan actually wanted to do it- and being the crazy people we are, we went back on the course and ran an additional two miles! It was hilarious because people driving by thought we were still running the race. They were shouting out words of encouragement and cheering us on! I didn't know how to explain that we had actually finished 30 minutes ago, so we just smiled and laughed it off.

We got back to the finish area, finally got our massages, and we got to see the last competitor finish. He was an 84 year old guy who's run the Genworth Virginia 10 Miler every year since the race first started in 1974. It took him over three hours this year, but he finished amidst a crowd of support. It was really inspiring to see him chugging along to the finish, slowly but surely, and to witness all the support and encouragement from everyone. Nobody understands the determination, dedication, and perseverance required for the sport better than fellow runners.