Wears Valley 15k recap

I had never ran a 15k race before so when I found out this was a team race and lots of my buddies (and team mates) were running I decided to make use of some of the volunteer coupons I had laying around. I asked a friend or two what the course was like and when they said it was a great course I said, "sign me up!" I needed a long run anyway so why not turn my long run for the week into a race?

This was small (139 registered/ 129 finished), local race described as:
A lovely, scenic, and challenging course that runs on backcountry roads near the Little River. First mile is flat, followed by a major hill near
2 miles. Rolling hills the rest of the way, with a flat final mile. Course closes after 2 hours – this is not a
course for walkers.
(taken from the race website). I knew a few things...
~hills don't intimidate me like they once did
~I would most definitely make that 2 hour cut off since my last 10 miler was done in 1:37
~a flat finish is always a plus
~it was a team race and my team/friends were all going to be there

The only negative going into the race was the fact that my husband would not be there. Football season keeps him away on Sundays due to meetings then we had church and the kids to also factor in. I'd be flying solo for this one. It wasn't really a big deal as I knew where I was going and my friends were all going to be there. However, the bummer was the fact that there would be no pictures (he's great about taking them) and he wouldn't be there to cheer me on at the finish.

Anyway....
I woke up just before 6am and got dressed in the clothes I laid out the night before. I left the house with plenty of time to get there, ate my Fig Newtons (my new pre-race/long run "meal") on the way and was at the race site by 7am. It was a cool morning, low humidity but I knew it would be warming up. I decided on my running skirt and sleeveless top but took a jacket just in case.
I arrived, got my bib/bag and met my friends. Most of them are in training for fall marathons and have schedules that put them needing to log more than the 9.3 miles of this race for their long run of the day. I decided to do a bit of a warm up with Dave before the 8am start. I think I logged a total of 1.5 miles give or take with him before heading back to my car to lose the jacket, grab my hat and head for the port-a-potty line, which by this point had gotten quite long!

After my pit stop it was time to line up. However, we couldn't start a race without at least one team photo.
[caption id="attachment_1566" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Team Socialites[/caption]

This race was not chip timed. We went on a one, two bang! With the shot of the little gun we were off and running. I did not have a strategy for this race. I just wanted to run my comfortable pace (9:22-9:48) and finish standing. That's always the goal, right!? Ideally I would have love to start slow and progress up to a faster pace for the last few miles but I am not the best at pacing myself. Also, I knew there was a bit of a hill at the 2nd mile. I also knew the course was rolling and wasn't sure when to expect the uphills. The uphills still give my silly hip a bit of pain so I made sure to leave room for walking if needed.

The first mile was great. Having warmed up pre-race I was ready to go and found it relatively easy to settle in. The only thing in that first mile that sucked was the smell of bacon cooking in the campsite we ran through. I heard a few around me say it smelled good but my immediate thought was, "That's nasty!" I do love me some bacon, just not while running! The hill at mile 2 would prove to be a bit tough for me. I was playing leap frog with a guy and once I passed him I decided to slow and walk the 2nd half of the hill to which he said, "I'm with you. I'd rather save my energy for later!"

I don't really remember a ton of details from mile to mile. I knew there was a water stop coming up between mile 2-3. I took a water but only sipped and kept running. I didn't run this race with music as I usually don't when I'm running outside these days. I guess I got lost in thought some during this run. That's sometimes really nice. Just being out there in the open with my thoughts is quite peaceful and therapeutic.

This course was an out and back, however we didn't repeat the first two miles. The turn around was at about mile 4.5. On my way out of mile 3.5 into mile 4 the faster runners were on their way back. It was so good seeing some of my (faster!) friends and being able to cheer each other on. I know for myself the encouragement from them was great!

Splits for the first 5 miles..
1 - 9:40
2 - 10:36 (hey walk break!)
3 - 9:30
4 - 10:16 (water stop, at which point I also ate ShotBlox)
5 - 9:48

I wasn't sure what to expect for the second half. At this point I didn't know that we would not be repeating the first two miles so I was kind of not looking forward to some of the hills I had gone up (and come down!) the first half of the race. But I pressed on. I didn't notice a lot of stuff around me other than the litter on the side of the country roads we were running on. I had picked up a water at mile 4 but since I was busy trying to eat my ShotBlock I didn't toss my cup and felt awful about tossing it further than where the water station was so I carried it with me all the way to the next water stop (bwtn mile 6-7). I did a trade off with the volunteer at the next stop and she thought it was funny that I'd held onto the cup from mile 4 for so long. Truth is, I've volunteered before and I knew they'd be the ones picking up the Gu pkts, cups and whatever else us messy runners left on the side of the road and it made me feel guilty. (Shout out to all the awesome volunteers out there, races wouldn't be possible without you!)

I was still holding a steady pace from mile 7 on and at that point I started to pick people off and do my best at speeding up and passing a few runners from there to the finish. I think that alone kept me going. Splits for the last few miles...

6 - 9:39
7 - 9:42
8 - 9:36
9 - 8:56
.37 - 3:11 (8:47)

I really tried to kick it up in the last mile and push hard to the finish line. It was awesome having some of my team mates there to cheer me on to the finish. I didn't notice the time on the clock but hit my Garmin as soon as I crossed. (1:30:57 for an overall pace of 9:43)
I hung around for the awards ceremony with my friends and was incredibly proud of them! SO many from my team took home awards. And hey, Team Socialites even placed 2nd! Nice job!

official stats-
Overall finish 95/129
Division 2/3
1:31:00 (9:46 pace)

I'm pleased with this race. It was my first 15k race so an automatic PR. I really like the distance. The weather was perfect and the course really was beautiful. I DO wish I had pushed myself a bit harder up that first hill and a couple other times during the race but overall I'm happy with how well my running has gone especially after spending so much time this summer on the injured list!

And even though my husband wasn't there to take pics I did find one that the race photographer took. This was between mile 6-7.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knoxvilletrackclub/7969882756/