Race Recap: LL Bean 10K

The LL Bean 10k is one of my most favorite 10ks.  It was actually my first 10k ever.  We were at a BBQ with friends and they were talking about it and how each runner gets a pair of New Balance shoes.  At first I was thinking "woah..... 6.2 miles?  that's SOOOO long!!!"  And then I was like...hmmm.. "free shoes, why not?"

That was back in the day when the race was so small everyone got shoes.  Or maybe it was the first 500.  But it took longer than 5 minutes for the shoes spots to fill up....  because we definitely did not register for that race right away and we still got them!

Now, LL Bean has changed it a little bit and if you register within a certain time frame, your name is put into a lottery.  And if you are one of the lucky ones, you get a pair of shoes.

Guess what?  I won this year!  A new pair of New Balance 890v4.  And they are PURPLE!  

#TEAMSPANDITS  

I didn't run the race last year, I wanted to support my dad running his firs 10k and take photos for Maine Running Photos.  Which I enjoy.  This year, my dad ran it again.  And so did it.  Actually, Wade and Ward did as well.  Soon Tucker will...and hopefully Izzy.  Then it will be a family event.  But that is way down the road.

The day before the race was my first summer track meet for the kids.  I logged well over 7.5 miles according to my FitBit during the meet, got a pretty good sunburn, and was super dehydrated.  I tried like heck to hydrate all day.  I drank 2 huge Nalgene bottles, but it wasn't enough being in the heat for over 5.5 hours. I drank more water when we grabbed dinner on the way home and then started hydrating like mad with gatorade and such.  Spoiler alert.  It didn't work.   Lesson learned.

selfie with dad before the race

The course itself is rather hilly.  Mile 1 is all down hill.  And it's so hard to keep it in check and not get carried away.  I always do.  And I did again this year.  Oops!  But then the hills come on quickly.  This year, the humidity was nasty and it was hot.   Accuweather said it was going to rain during the race.  Accuweather lied.

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos

It got hot.  Super fast.  I stopped at every single water stop and took two waters.  One to pour on me and one to drink.  I should have drank two.   Even with all that, I was dry and started to get the chills. Then I had to stop and puke in the woods.  Classy.  A first for me and I never want to do that again!

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos

I wanted to stop.  But couldn't.  The only people who could help me were at the race..and I was positive Ward didn't have his phone with him.  So, I trudged on.  I thought about hitching a ride with the ambulance.  I seriously did.  I thought about walking the rest of the way.  But I didn't.  I kept moving my legs.  Sorta.  And finished.  I didn't have my Garmin set to overall time, just average pace.  So I had no idea what my time was going to be until I neared the finish line.

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos

The look on my face explains what I thought about that time.  I was going into this race hoping for a course PR....and I was nowhere near it.

Bummer.  BUT, I finished.  So that was a huge accomplishment in itself.  

After I finished, I went back and found my friend, Jamie, and the found Ward and let him know what happened, while I drank MORE water.  And then started down the road to cheer on the racers, to find Stacy and Darcy, and to find my dad and get him to the finish!  

At least I LOVED my outfit!  Racing for Spandits makes my freaking day.
My Skechers Go Run 3's ROCK! And my Stable 26 socks are amazing.  

This part made my day.  I LOVE cheering on racers.  I love telling them how much they rock and how close they are.  I was standing at the mile 6 marker...so they were super close!  

When I found Stacy and Darcy, I ran with them for a bit, and then went back for my dad.  When I saw him he was walking.  I may have told him to suck it up and get running!  So he did.  And then he ran....and finished with a PR for him!  Go dad!!!  

I didn't PR.  I puked.  It wasn't the best race, but I finished.  But it was still a great race!  I love the LL Bean 10k and will be back again next year.  

Until then I have other races to kick butt in!