After running the NJ Half Marathon last month, I was so looking forward to my next race! Especially since it was a shorter distance, ha! Here is my recap of the Run the Hook 10k from this past Sunday!

Race

Run the Hook 10k

Location

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Official Finish Time

1:00:22 @ 10:09 min/mile pace

Pre-Race Mindset

A few days before the race, I ran 3 miles at an average of 9:38 min/mile so I was feeling pretty confident that I could maintain a 10:30 min/mile pace for a little over double that distance, which would bring me in at about 65 minutes for the 10k. My plan was to run Miles 1 and 2 at 10:30 min/mile, then either stay at that pace or, if I was feeling good, run Miles 3 and 4 at 10:15 mi and Miles 5 and 6 at 10 min/mile.

I was so excited to have friends at this race! My friend and running buddy Kristin had signed up for the race and although I knew we wouldn’t finish together (she is a much faster runner than I am!) I was excited to start the race with her. Not only that but my friend Ashley was also running the race so I was looking forward to meeting up with her at the start as well! It’s always so nice to have some familiar faces around on race day!

I will say that I was a little worried about the weather. The forecast called for rain and I’m completely inexperienced with running in the rain but I was still determined to run the race in 65 minutes or less.

Race Day Recap

The race also included a 5k so the start was super crowded. Kristin and I had such a hard time battling the slower runners and trying to get out of the herd of runners and even some walkers that were taking up the entire path. It was really frustrating and I really wanted to get out of the crowd so I went out entirely too fast. I ran Mile 1 at 10:09 min/mile! After the first mile, my plan went out the window because I certainly didn’t want to run the rest of the miles any slower than I had run Mile 1, ha! So at that point, I decided that I wanted to try to stay at a pace of 10:00 min/mile for as long as I could and I actually surprised myself with my times!

Mile 1: 10:09

Mile 2: 9:45

Mile 3: 9:41

Mile 4: 9:44

Mile 5: 9:53 (I blame this on the 3 foot elevation gain during this mile, ha!)

Mile 6: 9:41

And I ran the last two tenths at a 9:02 min/mile pace so I definitely finished strong and ended up coming in at an official time of 1:00:22.

Post-Race Thoughts

When I started running again back in January I was averaging 11:42 min/mi and at this race my official time averaged 9:44 min/mi so needless to say, I am thrilled with my progress and with these results! This race was just what I needed on Mother’s Day. Having lost my mom, it’s always the hardest day of the year for me so I was glad to have something positive to focus on.

Also, I really missed racing with my running buddy. Fingers crossed for more races together this year =)

What’s Next

I’m turning 40 this month so, to celebrate and to stay motivated to run this year, I’ve decided to run a race every month for the next year. There, I said it! That means it has to happen =)

I’m excited to share that I’m signed up for the George Washington Bridge Challenge 10k on June 3rd! Proceeds from the race benefit the American Cancer Society so I’m running this race in honor of my mother who died of cancer in 2003. If you’d like to make a donation, please click here.

Thanks so much for following along on my journey!! I’m so excited to have you along for the ride!

P.S. Thank you to Kristin for running with me and congrats to Ashley for running her first 10k!