Race Recap: L.L.Bean 10k – July 4, 2012

Happy Fourth of July.  I hope you all enjoyed your holiday!  
This morning I ran the L.L.Bean Fourth of July 10k in Freeport, Maine.  Despite  it’s famed hills, it was such a well organized and enjoyable race.

The weather was a little wet at the start and turned into a cool mist for a majority of the race.  It really was perfect weather for a July race.  At the start, the race announcer mentioned that there were 1,600 runners and it felt pretty congested for the first mile or so of the race.  The sweet downhill of the first mile transitioned into a few inclines during the second mile.  Things were still moving really smoothly until mile four when the hills started entering the picture.

My Garmin agreed, this was indeed a little bit of a hilly race.

With a total elevation gain of 332ft, I was toast!  That’s what happens when there are no hills to speak of where I typically run [Note to self:  find some!].  As you can see, my times tanked as I struggled through the steeper hills of miles four and five.  Once it leveled out again, I managed to pick up my pace a little bit.  I even ran into a fellow Tough Chik, Carrie from Maine Mom on the Run!  Her red sparkly skirt gave her away as I headed towards the final hill and home stretch.

In the last tenth of a mile to the finish, a fellow runner (in the blue shirt) mentioned that he had been following me and my skirt the whole race.  I asked him if he wanted to push it to the finish and he gave me a nod.  With his help I was able to pick it up and we sprinted to the finish line together.  Love the race camaraderie!  Thanks to the hubby, this was captured on video.

And by the time I got home from the parade, L.L.Bean had already sent me the official results.

Even though it isn’t a PR, I am still really proud of myself for finishing such a challenging race.  And the hubby also reminded me that it was here in Freeport, less than a year ago, that I really committed myself to running regularly again.  So within a years time, I have made significant progress and for that, I am thankful.

Lisa

Comments

  1. You totally rocked it! Great to see you, even if it was only as you were passing me!

  2. Hey Carrie! Glad I saw you too! Too bad we couldn't catch up after the race. That was one hilly and exhausting race. My legs are killing me today!

Trackbacks

  1. […] runners, the size of this race is perfect.  And, if you are curious, here are my recaps of the 2012 and 2013 L.L. Bean […]

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