Success! Finishing the St. Pete Run Fest 10K

The Goal: To Finish

Goal Achieved!

The Rollin' Oats Trop 10K at St. Pete Run Fest was an incredible race. My dear friend and sister in Christ, Terry, ran with me, and we not only finished under an hour and a half, but we ran the whole time! Not to mention we had a blast running together.

The weather was overcast with high 60's to low 70's and a gentle breeze. We couldn't have prayed for a more perfect day to race.

Terry and I preparing to start the race

Me, Terry, Amy, Kim, and Michelle in the corral

This is the second year of St. Pete Run Fest, and the first year for a 10K to be included. The course started in front of the Dali Museum, and looped around some of the downtown streets before heading up 1st Ave South (slight incline) all the way to Tropicana Field where we got to do a lap inside the stadium.

Then the course went beyond the Trop, looped back around to Central Avenue, and we followed the slight decline all the way to the waterfront. At the point where we were coming up to Bayshore Drive SE, there was only about 0.2 miles to go.

Today, I ran my longest distance of the past two years.

After a back injury, a heel injury, and then pregnancy and a new baby, most of my distances were walking or walk/jogging 2-4 miles. It's taken over 10 months to get back to jogging on a regular basis. I wasn't sure whether or not I could run the entire 10K distance, but Terry and I did! And it felt great. She was kind enough to stay with me, and our pace was around 13:30 mins/mile.

Slow and steady = Success!

Just before the finish line, my hubby had baby Luke up on his shoulders, and I got to give my baby a kiss before crossing the finish.

This was a really special day for me. I got good news from my midwife last week. My condition after pregnancy called diastisis recti (where the abdomen muscles separate) has completely healed. That alone made me much more confident coming into this race.

I'm excited to continue conditioning my body and keep up my running routine. It's slow going, but this was just the encouragement I needed to know that I'm on track, and I'm going to continue regaining my speed and distances.

I'm so grateful to St. Pete Running Company, a major sponsor of St. Pete Run Fest, for all the ways they support us employees.

Next year's goal: St. Pete Run Fest Half Marathon

Yep, I'm already thinking ahead and planning to get back to Half Marathon training for next year. It will probably take some time for me to get there, so I don't plan to do any other distances above a 10K or maybe 15K between now and then.

What About You?

Did you run at St. Pete Run Fest, or any other races this weekend? Did you reach your goals, or make new ones for next time?