April 15, 2014

Sole of the City 10K 2014 Race Recap

Make sure to enter my San Franola granola  giveaway(ends Tuesday 4/22!) and check out my Ahnu shoes review. 

Before I get to my race recap, I wanted to take a moment to recognize the anniversary of the Boston bombings.  Last year I wrote this in reflection and re-reading makes me remember how sick I felt that day. I knew I wanted to run Boston someday, but the tragedy was just fuel to my fire.  I cried on and off all day, mostly thinking about how many people were hurt who were spectators, which could easily have been my loved ones waiting for me to finish another race. I'm visiting Boston this week as a tourist (I've never been!), a marathon spectator, and as a runner. If there is one thing I've learned from this hobby of mine, runners form an amazing community. We are strong. So today just be thankful for those around you who support you and run if you can for those you can't! 

Boston Marathon 2013-#PayforBoston, #BostonStrong #RunBoston
from Organic Runner Mom
On a lighter note, if anyone has Boston suggestions, let me know! I have all of the major places covered, including a Red Sox game!

The Sole of the City 10K is a big race for Charm City Run with over 3100 runners this year. I ran the inaugural race 2 years ago which I remember as being hilly. Last year it was right after the Boston tragedy which gave it a different tone. This year they had a new course, which was supposedly less hilly. I was really stressed Friday afternoon after staying at work late and having to rush off to a movie with friends so I grabbed my bib and packet in a hurry. The race always has a super nice gender-specific premium, and this year's Under Armour half zip did not disappoint! 


Before the race started on Saturday morning, Erika Brannock, a local preschool teacher who lost most of her left leg at the Boston marathon bombings last year when she was spectating, spoke and gave a moving speech. Some of the funds from the race were going to a foundation in her name.  

solecity2014-blackoutline-w
from Charm City Run
The first thing I noticed when I was waiting at the start line on Fort Avenue was that it was warmer than I expected. I loved that the sun was shining, but clearly I haven't been used to run in unusually warm temperatures lately.  I was wearing a new pair of Lululemon speed shorts I splurged on in a new floral pattern. I really want to wear them everyday, and probably should for the cost! I also was happy to rep my November Project shirt since a few of the tribe members were running the race! I was in a big rush race morning after being out late the night before (oops!) but managed to grab everything I needed including my Garmin and lemon-lime Nuun!


I started off the race in the front of the pack and had a fast first mile. I haven't raced a 10K in a while and am always unsure how to pace it.  It's long enough where if I go out too fast in the beginning, I will be struggling at the end.  The first two and a half miles I felt great and was running a 7:20 pace.  The race overall had a bunch of water and gatorade stops and good support. Once it hit mile 3-4 I was getting hot and definitely looking at my Garmin to check my pace and mileage to push myself to keep running steadily. 

 I felt pretty good settling in at a 7:30 pace for the whole race overall, which made me feel great.  Also I was happy that the mile markers were right on what my Garmin was saying. The course ended up going a little bit around the city, including part of the loop around the Inner Harbor, which is a great place to run. It's my main running route around the city so there were no surprises there.  

The only thing I wish I had done was worn a hat or visor because most of the race was directly in the sun.  Around mile 5 on the way back to the finish (which was right past the start line) there were some hills.  I definitely had to pretend it was a hill training session and push myself to keep moving up each hill.  When I finally made it to the homestretch and passed the 6 mile marker, the last 0.2 miles toward the giant American flag felt like they went on forever, but eventually I made it! By the end of the race I was a super sweaty mess, but managed to finish in 46:27 with a 7:30 average pace.   

Sarah and I repping November Project Baltimore
After the race I immediately grabbed some water and met up with my boyfriend and some marathon training friends.  After cooling down a bit, I grabbed a banana and some pretzels. They had some veggie and lunchmeat wraps too, but apparently those were not very good so I passed and went for my free beer instead!


Since the weather was gorgeous, it was great to relax and catch up with lots of friends after the race. McHenry Row, where the race ended, has a couple of restaurants and lots of local businesses that were open to support the runners.  Usually I don't hang around too long after races because it gets crowded . After one or three post-race beers, I grabbed brunch and froyo with some friends. Then it was definitely time to take a shower and a long nap! 

Overall, while a little hot, the weather was beautiful, the premium rocks, and the course was great (minus a couple of those hills at the end!). It's a great spring race in Baltimore!

2 comments:

  1. Holy Lord! Great job on your race! Hubby and I ran it as well, but a whole lot slower! LOL! It is a great race and I did like the new course. Though by the time we hit Inner Harbor so many tourists were out, it felt like an obstacle course! Great job!!

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  2. Wooo you crushed those hills! Froyo was the perfect after-race treat. I could have used some haha all day I kept complaining about how hot the race was. Apparently nobody else at Charm City thought it was that bad... but they also weren't the ones out there running it soooo they clearly don't know what they are talking about. SEE YOU IN BOSTON

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