Race Recap: 2014 Beach to Beacon 10k

Disclaimer:  I officially stink at posting race recaps in a timely fashion… Here goes my Beach to Beacon 10k recap from August!

After having a bit of running trouble and a lack of on-call coverage at work, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the starting line of the 2014 Beach to Beacon 10k. Thankfully, on-call coverage pulled through for the weekend and my foot held out enough to let me run pain-free.  Now, I wasn’t exactly trained for a great performance but at least I was able to run one of the most beautiful race courses in the Northeast.

This was my second Beach to Beacon race event {2013 Recap here!}. Let’s just say that it is an absolutely star-studded event, thanks to the race founder, Joan Benoit-Samuleson. With her effort, elites from all over the world come to race this beautiful coastal event in Benoit-Samuelson’s hometown, Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  This year both, Meb and Shalane ran!

Beach to Beacon 00

Prior to the race, I met up with Kara.  It’s always great to get a chance to chat with her!  Plus, she is a great running partner.  After catching the shuttle bus to the start, we had quite a bit of time to wait around.  We had no line for the bathroom and then made our way up to the self seeded starting area. Beach to Beacon 0

Mile 1: 8:29 /Mile 2: 8:40 /Mile 3: 8:34

Kara and I ran together for a while and we split at Mile 3 since I was not feeling it.  I wasn’t having any foot issues, I was just exhausted.  Clearly not as well-trained going into this race as last year.  I mean, I knew that going in to the, but you still always have this hope that you can pull a unicorn out of the sky and run a great race!

Mile 4: 9:05  /Mile 5: 9:14  /Mile 6:  9:44 / .25:  7:09

Once Kara and I split, I totally lost my focus and got into my head.  I didn’t have much left in me at the end of this race.  Yet, I was satisfied that I ran six miles without stopping.  At this point, in dealing with some injuries, that was a feat in and of itself.  And, any day that I am capable of putting one foot in front of the other without pain, is a great day in my books 🙂

Final Time:  55:29 (8:56)

Beach to Beacon photo 2View of the Finishline area!

Beach to Beacon photo 1The Beacon wrapped in an enormous image of Joanie!

Beach to Beacon photo 3Another Beach to Beacon with Kara is in the books! Beach to Beacon 4

This course felt a lot more challenging to me this year compared to last year.  I guess that goes to show where my fitness level is these days… sigh.  I just want to be a healthy runner again!  Plus, I made the mistake of wearing a long sleeves.  I’m not sure what I was thinking.  I was freezing cold all morning and was really worried about being cold, a la Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, so I left it on.  Huge mistake and I honestly could feel myself roasting more and more with each mile.  Ah, well, there is always next year! I hope to have fast fingers and make the registration to run the next two years before we leave West Point.  Hopefully, my running bud, Kara, will be there too!

Which race do you think has the best scenery and small town support?

Lisa

Comments

  1. Wow. Beautiful race scenery. Sorry you ended up being so toasty during the race. It is always so hard for me to figure out what to wear.

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  1. […] and the execution of this race is pretty darn close to flawless.  You can read my recaps here and here.  Plus, in good news, the lottery opens on March […]

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