Cville 10 miler recap!

This morning I ran a hometown race, the Charlottesville 10 Miler. The 10 miler has been been going on in cville for 40 years and is a very popular race. I signed up last fall for the early bird price. This was my first race since the marathon and the first one out of 3 races I have within the next month (another 10 miler and a half).

Woke up at 5:45, got some toast and peanut butter and was out the door by 6:15. Got to the start line and parked by 6:40 and had 35 mins to chill until the start. Parking next to the start/finish closed at 7 and I wanted to make sure I got a spot and wouldn't have to be shuttled! 

Runners were allowed inside UVA's basketball arena (the start line was on the street right outside) which was super nice because of bathrooms (no porta potties!) and getting to stay warm because it was chiller out than expected this morning! I took some time to stretch and just wake my body up. 

Headed out to the start around 7:10 and saw a high school friend! It was great to see a familiar face and have someone to quickly chat with :) 7:15 and we were off!

The course is known for being extremely hilly and it was no joke! The first miles took us around Uva campus with a little hill here or there but I was feeling great! Saw another friend cheering with her sister near UVA as well! The middle part of the race took us through downtown cville and older neighborhoods and that's where the monster hills were. Any flat section I took advantage of catching my breath before conquering the next hill. 

However, I was pleased with my time thus far and not having any IT band issues at all, I was just taking it one step at a time and enjoy seeing cville sights.

Around mile 7.5-8, I started feeling sick. I didn't want water (I had been taking sips at every station) and my stomach was in knots. Bathroom or sick? I was wondering if breakfast hadn't settled well. I just took some deeper breathes and focused on knowing I'd be done soon. By the time I reached mile 9, I was feeling better and was ready to be done in just a little more than 8 mins! Course the hills weren't done yet so had some more pushing not through to do. I also started listening in one the convo between 2 girls beat me (my wireless headphones had died) and found out one of them had gone to Radford! 

A few more hills later and I was across the finish line! My time was 1:30 flat which is my usual 10 miler pace and I was happy with that :) I ended up parking eighth near the finish line so was able to get in my car and out the back way quickly. 

Thanks for a nice run Cville! Nice to run along various spots in Cville and see familiar faces!