Davis Stampede 10K Race Recap 2/12/17

My first race of 2017 was the Davis Stampede 10K. I had done the race last year, but I remember being sick and was unable to really race it. This year, I again didn't actually "race" it since I didn't go all out but it was a good scheduled training run. Coach Dawn set the paces and I pretty much followed them. It was also a fun run because I got to run with my running buddy Elizabeth. 

PACKET PICKUP: Shirt and bib pickup were at Fit House Davis. You had the option of going the day before the race or picking it up morning of. I opted to go the day before since it's not far and it was a quick pick-up anyway. They were located in the parking lot so it was an easy grab and go.

Here's the shirt. 

RACE DAY: The race started at 8:00am. Coach Dawn wanted me to do a 1.5-2 mile warm up and since I knew the start was less than two miles from my house, I met up with Elizabeth around 7:35am and we ran to the start. Our warm up ended up being about 1.7 miles and took us under 20 minutes to get there. We had time for a nice pre-race pic at the start line.

And of course a selfie while waiting for the race to start.

We didn't have to wait too long before we were off and running. Coach's workout plan had me at 8:45-9 pace for the first 4 miles and then the last 2.2 at 8:30-40.

The course was different from last year in that the start was at Playfields Park this year and last year we started in Downtown Davis. I didn't mind the course change because it was easier for me to get to. It was fun running in familiar territory since a lot of my training runs are on some of these trails.

I felt great. My first mile was at 8:44/mi. It was so fun having Elizabeth running with me too. I managed this selfie mid-run. :)

Mile 2 was at 8:43/mi. There are two "hills" on the course and both hills are overpasses. This is the first overpass at mile 3. My pace for mile 3 was 8:33. A bit speedy but I was feeling pretty good.

The volunteers did a good job of letting us know which way we were supposed to go since the Stampede run also has a half marathon and 5K course. There a couple of junctions that I remember where us 10K runners had to go a different route from the half marathon and 5K runners. I didn't have a problem but later in the run I ran into half marathon runners that looked confused and seemed lost. My pace for mile 4 was 8:38/mi.

I was still feeling pretty strong. During mile 5 was where I had to hit the 8:30-40 pace and kicked it up a notch. This mile was also where we hit the second "hill" or overpass. After the overpass, there was only about 1.5 to go. My mile 5 pace was 8:31/mi.

I kept at it and tried to maintain a steady pace but not go too fast. Mile 6 was at 8:28/mi. When I knew I was getting close, I just got excited and the last .2 was at 8:05/mi. My watch stopped there but the race wasn't done and I forgot to resume my workout on my watch, but my time ended up being 53:31 which comes out to 8:37/mi overall pace. Not bad for a training run! 

It was awesome that I managed 3rd place in my age group. I was pretty surprised and excited about that. Here's me and Elizabeth taking a silly finish line pic. :) Elizabeth also did awesome especially since it was her first race coming back from an injury.

It was pretty nice that this year they gave everyone a medal. Normally you got a free medal only if you did the half marathon, and other runners had to pay $5 if you wanted a medal. Everyone getting a medal was a nice touch and great surprise. Below is a pic of the medal and also my age group award medal.

At the finish area, there was the usual water, bananas, bagels, bars. I just stuck with a banana since I wasn't too hungry. Overall, it was a great race and the Stampede is a race I would do each year especially since it's local. It is so easy to get to that I can't resist. Next up for me is the Davis Lucky Run 10 miler on 3/4. I'm looking forward to another good training run! 

Happy running!