Perfect 10 Miler Race Recap 10/26/14

The Perfect 10 Miler race took place at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, NJ. I loved this race because it was so close to home. I did not have to travel far as the park is only 15 minutes from my place. :)

RACE EXPO: I went with my friend Laurel to the expo the day before the race. It wasn't difficult to find the expo with the signs they had that said it was located in the ice skating rink. It was pretty neat when we got there that the Daughter Dash was going on. We got to see some of it and I thought it was great seeing these young girls running.                                                                                             Inside the expo there were quite a few vendors. More than I expected. Shirt and Bib pick up were in the back, there was no signage for this, so I had to ask where it was. I always like to get them first before I shop around. Bib pickup was fast and easy. I really like the purple shirt we got. It's lightweight and I love the color. It fits nicely too.

NJ Running company was selling running shoes and I almost bought a pair of Newtons for $50 but I just wasn't sure if they were for me. I knew it was a great deal but couldn't get myself to buy them without doing more research. I did see they had some Brooks Pureflow 2s, the shoes I wear now, but not in my size. I was sad they didn't have my size. However, I did buy a cool tank from Words from the Wise Running. I had seen these shirts on another blog and thought they were great. I like the motivational quotes on the back and really like the idea of "Be the Inspiration". There are many a times when I need that extra bit of inspiration in a race and when I see someone's shirt with a cool quote, I think "that is awesome" and helps push me to keep going. I had liked the page on Facebook and when I talked to Tim the owner, he recognized my name (runhikeplay), so I thought that was pretty cool that he knew who I was. :) The tank I got has the quote "It always seems impossible until it's done. -Nelson Mandela". I can't wait to wear it for a race.

They also had a yoga class going on by the time we left. I think there were a couple of speakers later in the day as well. Pretty neat they offered this. Overall, the expo was decent. 

RACE DAY: My friend Laurel was so nice and picked me up at 6:30am as we had to get to Mercer County Park by 7:15am before the roads closed. We wanted to make sure we'd have enough time to get there and get situated. We arrived pretty early. The temperature was in the low 50's so it wasn't horribly cold. The indoor ice rink was open, which was great so we could hang out in there and stay warm. We also took advantage of the bathrooms in there. Once it got closer to 8am, we headed to the start line. The sunrise was pretty.

I was hoping to meet up with others that had signed up under our "MOMS RUN THIS TOWN" team name, but there were just too many people. The run started a little late but it wasn't too bad. National anthem was sung and then we were off! The course was nice as it went throughout Mercer County Park and some of it went into Mercer County Community College.

With Fall here, it made for some pretty trees along the course.

Here I'm running through the community college campus.

I felt pretty good up until about mile 8. I knew I started out pretty fast, but I felt so strong that I thought I could keep it up. When we got close to mile 9 we actually could see the finish line and went past it. At this point I knew we were getting close to the end but was wondering where the heck was the turn around point to head back. That part of the race was the hardest for me, but once we hit the turn around and headed towards the finish I kept at it. It was hard but I maintained my pace and finished! I knew I ran fast and this turned out to be the fastest 10 miles ever for me!!

After I crossed, I was given my cool medal and a bottle of water. I found my friend Laurel and her friend. Here we are happy and smiling because we finished!

The race had a bunch of post race goodies for runners. First, we were given a paper bag that included a banana, a pretzel, and a muffin. We saw the coffee station that also had hot chocolate. I went straight for the hot chocolate and it was so good after the run, especially since it was a bit windy and kinda cold due to the wind. There was also grilled chicken and veggies to eat, but I wasn't feeling it after the race so I passed. 

Overall, it is a well put on race with a great course! This is a run I would do again!