Illinois 10K

On April 30th I completed the Illinois 10K Run/Walk in Champaign/Urbana. For me there was no walking involved! No Siree :)

I have been running for just over a year now, and wanted to step up my challenge from a 5K to a 10K this year. Another motivator is that the 5K was moved to Friday night to make room for the 10K. Since I work second shift, I would have had to take a day off to run the race. No biggie with the 10K though, it was EARLY in the morning!

The day was WINDY with fairly overcast skies. I dressed a little warm for the race, but was thankful because at the end when my body started to cool down, I was glad to have the extra layers. The last 2 miles or so were up hill and into a headwind. That made it, we will say, fun ....yea fun.... to finish. I have been training on the country roads near my house with hills and wind so it really wasnt that bad for me.

I found a marker to pace myself with during the race. A woman with curly dark hair in a pony tail and a bright blue shirt was about 50 feet in front of me most of the race. At the 5th mile I actually caught her and ended up finishing ahead of her with a boost of adrenaline at the end. The course was great, the volunteers were wonderful. Overall it was a great race!

I ran the race with my wife Tracy and Jennifer, her cousin. Jen has been running and exercising and working out for far longer than we have, and she did so well that she finished second in her age group. Go Jen!

Her time was 49:50, the 89th runner across the line. AWESOME!!!!!!

I finished at 1:04:07, 689th runner across the line, and Tracy finished  in 1:14:30, 1,194th runner across the line.

A total of 1,756 people finished the 10K that day. Over 1000 people finished behind me, so That isn't too shabby!

Jen, me and Tracy at the end of the 10K. We finished at the 50 yard line in Memorial Stadium at the U of I.

I have really been enjoying running this year. As of today I have over 200 miles logged in outdoor activities which are running, walking and biking.

The training and the country miles have all been worth it. I feel energized, positive and happy despite the curve balls that are thrown at me and the challenges I have faced this year.

So lace up those shoes, put a little WD40 on that bike chain, pop in your favorite music or go without, and enjoy the outdoors while working off some of that weight and building up your natural endorphins! 

I keep saying it, so I mind as well try and achieve it. I want to run a half marathon by the end of this year. Now I just have to find one to run in.......