2017 10K Panther Run

On Saturday, I decided to participate in a local 10K instead of running my planned 6 mile run. Local 10K's aren't very popular here, so I jumped on the chance to run this one. Also, this isn't a race I've participate in before, so I thought it would be fun to run a new one!

I woke up to really cold temps on Saturday morning. Basically, fall decided to visit for a hot second, then winter popped right in!

I hadn't registered for this race prior to Saturday morning, so I arrived early and told Jason to meet me with Brayden closer to the end of the race.

My plan for this race was to just enjoy it and not worry about a PR. In fact, I didn't even check my 10K PR until after this race was over and I was honestly shocked - my PR is a 51 minute 10K. How in the world I did that, I'll never know. 

This race offered a 5K, 10K, and 1 mile color run. The 5K and the 10K races started together first at 7:30 a.m. followed by the color run at 8:30 a.m.

My friend Lisa and her daughter Megan were participating in this race, so I met up with them before the start for a quick hello. Megan was running this as her first 10K for a time placement for Princess in February!

Before we knew it, it was time to start the race.

We lined up beneath the chute and after a quick prayer, we were off!

The 10K route led us down my favorite running route! It was an out and back which I loved!

As we turned past the lake and onto the next road, I was so grateful that I remembered my sunglasses! The sun was BRIGHT and shining directly at us.

At this point, we were close to mile 3 and I felt as if I had a lot left in my tank. I decided if I was feeling that good at the halfway point, I could pick up the pace a little bit. So, I did just that and was able to pass the two runners that were directly ahead of me.

We approached the turn around and I began counting runners as I usually do - that's when I realized something crazy....I was the second female! Whaaaaat!!

After seeing I was that far ahead, I decided to keep it up and continue my current pace. Although a head wind off the lake on the way back threatened to slow me down, I tried to push through as best as possible. I knew once I hit mile 5, I could do anything!

Just like that, the final turn was ahead and so was the finish line! I saw Jason and Brayden there cheering me on so I gave a little wave and crossed over the line. 

My finish time was right at 55 minutes and I came in as the second overall female! Yes, it was a very small 10K, but we won't talk about that right now....

Megan crossed not long after, and it was nice chatting with her and her mom!

Results were posted after a few minutes, so I walked over to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me...

Sure enough, they weren't!

Ok, ok...so this was a REALLY small 10K but yeah...I'll still take it!

Brayden wasn't thrilled about the cold, but he enjoyed people watching!

We hung around for the awards ceremony, but they completely burst my bubble as awards were only given to the overall top male and female in the 5K and 10K. Whoops. Guess I should have read the fine print a little better...

After a banana and a few bites of food, we decided to eat a real breakfast at a local diner!

It was delicious as always!

Not long after being seated, my "Goofy" buddy from my running group came walking in with his wife! He ran a different 5K that morning and because we had on the same shirt, we had to take a picture! Fun times!!

Overall, it was a great morning and an even better race! I loved the course and enjoyed the atmosphere! This is definitely one I'll run again in the future!