Blacksburg Classic 10 Mile

Photo courtesy of Aaron B.

One week post- 50k and after a long work week, we weren't sure how this race would go. I was feeling sick with a head cold and Kristen was just plain tired from working. Nonetheless, we were super stoked as the Classic is considered (at least to us) to be one of Blacksburg's premier running events.

After a lazy morning of breakfast with friends, coffee and hanging out, we slowly gathered ourselves together and got out the door. We opted to run to the race site which was about 2 miles from our home and it worked out perfectly as a solid warm-up and cool-down. We made sure to layer up well though because it felt freezing outside! There were flurries falling with a forecast of snow.

Upon arrival, the hosting elementary school was chaos. We jumped in line for the bathrooms and prepared to start, chatting it up with friends along the way. Kristen said she thought the start was a little anti-clamatic: here were are wearing fancy race bibs with internal chips and the race director is yelling "set... go!" Ha.  Anyways, we were off!

Kristen's Race

While I won't go into a ton of detail about the race itself, I will say it was a great day for me! I dropped 20 seconds from my previous PR set at Cherry Blossom (April '12) to finish in 1:10:35 with a 1st place age group placing. My strategy was to have a conservative first half and let myself go from there and it worked out perfectly. I have to say, the girls competition this year was pretty stacked! Normally my time would be good for a top 3 performance but I think I only managed 6th or 7th this year. I had really hoped to get the sub-70 as my Garmin told me I was averaging sub-7 pace, but now I know to rely more on the actual race mile markers than my own watch :) Next time! Regardless, this course is more challenging than Cherry Blossom was with a lot of rolling hills, even more so with the final miles being more uphill. I felt much stronger on them than I have in the past and especially late in the race. To me, that's more important than a finishing time.

http://blacksburgroadracing.shutterfly.com/8885

Jordan's Race:

When the race started, I had a cough drop in my mouth and one more ready to take. Someone commented, "Something smells fruity!" I guess I was busted...haha. Anyways, the race got off to its usual quick pace due to having the first 3 miles in conjunction with the 5k race. I love this kind of race because it keeps the race from getting too thinned out until after mile 3. This gave me a chance to get into a good rythme and not worry about who was leading at the time. When we got to the split for the 5k/10miler, I got to see that I was sitting solidly in 3rd, about 75 meters behind first an about 25 meters behind 2nd. This was another perfect scenario for me because I knew I could keep them in my sights for the rest of the race and key off them.

By the turnaround after mile 7, I was really feeling my cold....my body was achey, my head wanted to explode and I had the world's worst GUSHING nose... snot rockets would not suffice. I was sitting 20 meters behind second and was getting discouraged because every time I surged to try and catch him, I would get within 5-10 meters of him then he would pull away again. On the way back in, I got so much encouragement from all the other runners, which gave me a boost of energy to keep trying to catch #2. I love the running community here and how its such a close knit group of folks of all abilities and ages. The last several miles are a mix of gentle to not-so-gentle hills and I slowly began reeling the second place guy in. By the last 1/2 mile I was within striking distance and I tried one last time to get him....and failed again....ugh. I settled in about 10 meteres back of him on the last hill to the finish kicking myself for letting him get away from me. However, when we crested the hill and started on last 100 meters of flat/downhill, something from my high school track days came back and I started kicking. I found a new gear which I hadn't used in probably several years and made up ground fast. When I caught #2 with about 35 meters to go, he did not respond and I was able to take 2nd. Ugh...that hurt, but it was so rewarding to earn a 2nd place like that, not just settling for the 'easy' 3rd. I am glad to know I still have some of that competitive edge and kick to go along with it. I am also happy to get the 60 minute monkey off my back, which had been hanging around for way to long. During the last several 10 milers that I have attempted, my sub 60 minute attempts have been thwarted by getting lost, terrible weather, etc....now I can check that off my list and work on continuing to get faster :-D

http://blacksburgroadracing.shutterfly.com/8885

Thanks to everyone along the way that was cheering, including Guy, Wyatt, and Bradner! It's wonderful having passed by so many familiar faces!!

Climbing uphill with approximately 1 mile to go. This hill is now familiar territory for us!

Thanks Wyatt L for the pics!

Post-race we chatted it up with friends and locals, met a few new people and enjoyed some food. Though we were absolutely cold and tired, we were in no rush to get home because we were enjoying our "reunion" with friends! The Blacksburg community is such a friendly and welcoming one and we are loving that we can now call it HOME!!! We've run into a few people lately who have asked "how long will you be here?" not knowing if our time is temporary or long-term. As far as we're concerned, we're here to stay!! Woot!

Post-race hangout: Kristen with Heather F. and Cortney M.

Race goodies

Post-race we enjoyed a late afternoon nap followed by more delicious food and a puppy play-date with friends...Pretty much our idea of a perfect Saturday :-D