Race Report - Bayshore 10k

This Saturday started off yet another double race weekend. On Friday, Kristin and I headed off to Traverse City to join our friends JR and Ronda for the Bayshore races (they were running the 13.1, K and I running the 10k). The buildup to this race is such that I hadn't run since the riverbank 25k incident, nervous, tired from a long work week, but ready to put the legs to work running again.

After a beer and a "late night" snack at North Peak brewery, we headed off to our quality motel 6 room to get what sleep we could. JR and Ronda had to be up very early, so we crashed pretty quickly. I shouldn't complain about the hotel, because the place next door looked far worse. The only issue was the lack of coffee before 7am. Thank heaven for 7-11!

Race morning we drove and found relatively close parking. Got coffee, and walked in the very brisk 38 degrees to the start. We recounted how drastically different this weather was from last year, when we ran the Madison half-marathon in 80+ degrees at 7am. Crazy. Anyway, I was pretty stressed out and worried that the run was going to be a disaster. I didn't want the leg cramping to return. My legs were cold and tight, my mental state was weak. So much so that I think at one point I proclaimed to K that "this is going to be a $&@) failure!"

However, once the race started and we dealt with all of the poorly paced runners, things were fine. I recall thinking to myself, run more towards the ball of your feet and up on your toes, over exaggerating your form. It worked! We cruised along the bay and averaged approximately 8:15/mi pace. Nowhere close to a PR, but I was elated. Also very proud that K stuck to it after having several very poor runs after her big Riverbank PR.

Post-race amenities were great. We waited a short time and watched JR and Ronda finish their race. JR with a PR! We quickly cleaned up at the motel and grabbed lunch and celebratory beers at Mackinaw Brewing Co. before heading home. What a huge relief this was. The beginning of being back on track, love it!