Holyoke 10K Race Report

First off, Gregg & Kathleen scored us some shirts to wear from this really cool hamburger place in Holyfield called Local. We were supposed to wear the shirts for the race and then go there for a burger afterward. Sounded good to me. The guys got red shirts and the girls got black. They were cute. There was just one slight problem..it was going to be pretty warm out on Saturay and not only were our shirts black, but they were also cotton. It was going to be the first really warm day. Like really warm..like in the 70's. The race started at 1:00 and when we finished and got in the car it was 79!

The race was just part of the St. Patrick's Day festivities going on in Holyoke that weekend. They also have a big parade on Sunday. It's actually the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the country..at least that's what I was told.

This was the best crowd support out of any race I've ever been a part of. There were people lining the entire course from start to finish. It was unbelievable.

Gregg said this was a fairly flat course with "some hills," but they weren't supposed to be bad. Well, that turned out to be untrue! The first hill was pretty big. From what I remember, there were 3 hills altogether. I don't think the hills would've been a problem if it weren't for the heat. I think we were all pretty sweaty long before we got to the starting line. Between the heat and the black shirts (plus I had on black capris), we were dying!

I was looking for water at the first mile, but unfortunately there wasn't any until mile 2. The other unfortunate thing was I started the race way too fast. I think my first mile was something like 9:08 which is too fast for the first mile of a race (at least for me it is!). That's a classic mistake and I know better, but I did it anyway.

I have to say, there were a couple of times where I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it. I had been feeling a little sick the night before & the morning of the race. I had an upset stomach and I almost felt like I had a stomach bug..so I didn't feel so great going into the race.

It was so hot that I drank water at every single water stop. I don't normally do that. In fact, the only races I've ever stopped for water were during 15k's & half marathons. I really needed it on Saturday though.

My sister-in-law unfortunately started vomitting between miles 2-3 and had to drop out. Although she was drinking water for 4 days prior to the race, I think she got dehydrated. I felt bad for her. When she dropped out at mile 3, her splits were right where she wanted them to be. What a bummer.

So, the bottom line is..I was aiming for a time 58 minutes and ended up with a time of 59:55. I think that's an overall pace of 9:36 or something like that. I'll take it. I think I could've done better though. I think the heat played a big factor.

All in all, it was a fun day. After the race we went to Local for some awesome burgers and fries. I was so hungry that I inhaled everything. Thanks to the peeps at Local for hooking us up with the shirts and the burgers!

I went out for a 3 mile run today. I have to admit that the quads and the calf muscles are a bit sore. Today's run felt good though.

Next race is the Ocean City, Maryland 13.1 next month..yowza!

Here is a nice picture of our group - pre-race :)